Law enforcement in Japan

Ljubljana – Prisons lack more than 100 prison officers to meet the security standards, a problem exacerbated by low pay and low interest in this career. The Prison Administration employs 554 prison officers and 16 candidates for the job, while it should have as many as 672 under the 2018 staffing standards, Justice Ministry data shows.

Three attacks on police riot units took place within the space of an hour on Monday near the Athens University of Economics and Business.

The first incident occurred at around 3 p.m. when unknown assailants threw rocks at a riot police unit stationed on Derigni Street.

That was soon followed by a similar attack on officers on nearby Mavromataion Street.

Police on Thursday were searching for an inmate from Kassandra rural prison in Halkidiki who failed to return from a morning work assignment earlier in the day. The 44-year-old Serbian national is serving time for robbery convictions.

Prison authorities notified the local police station, which in turn alerted border stations and airports to prevent the escapee from fleeing abroad.

Greek prisons are overcrowded and have a relatively lower budget compared to other European Union countries, according to the "Prisons in Europe 2005-2015" report published on Tuesday by the Council of Europe.

The union of Thessaloniki police officers staged a demonstration Tuesday outside the city's main courthouse in the wake of Saturday's firebomb attack against a riot unit van which put the lives of some 20 officers at risk.

The van was transferring officers guarding the Turkish Consulate.

A crowd of around 100 youths set upon a riot police unit stationed outside the main campus of Panteion University in Athens Thursday afternoon.

The incident was preceded by some members of the group heckling an on-duty officer dressed in civilian clothes nearby before beating him up and then pelting the unit with plastic chairs taken from a nearby cafeteria.

A recent response by the justice ministry to a parliamentary question on torture and sexual abuse at a juvenile prison in Alia?a in the province of ?zmir contradicted earlier claims, with an opposition deputy questioning if the ministry has hidden the bitter truth.

A draft bill that was presented for public discussion on Friday and is expected to be submitted in Parliament soon foresees stricter terms for the conditional release from prison of offenders convicted of terrorism as well as more lenient treatment for those who return money swindled from the state.