The Justice Ministry has published figures showing a total of 2,538 prisoner transports between correctional facilities and courts in Luxembourg in 2025.
This marks an increase from 2,072 such movements in 2024, and is slightly higher than 2,492 recorded in 2023. The data was provided by the ministry in response to a request from RTL.
Notably, these statistics do not cover transfers for hospital visits or security escorts, nor do they include the movement of minors from Unisec or detainees from the immigration detention centre.
The Justice Ministry explained it is unable to break down the figures specifically for journeys between the Uerschterhaff Prison in Sanem and courts, as this would require a manual search of each individual record.
Such a breakdown could have provided insight into whether police are frequently required for these transports, rather than using newer communication technologies for hearings.
While in-person transport has increased, the use of remote audio-visual court hearings is also on the rise.
Over the last two years, the number of detainees appearing before judges via audio-visual telecommunications grew from 2,263 in 2024 to 2,606 in 2025, representing a 15% increase. The number of individual remote hearing sessions rose from 299 to 383 over the same period.
Nearly two years ago, the National Syndicate of the Grand Ducal Police (SNPGL) criticised the organisation of prisoner transport, warning that poor management and working conditions were placing police officers under significant stress and at heightened risk.
The Justice Ministry told RTL that no reorganisation of appointments between remand prisoners and the public prosecutor is planned at this time.
The overall number of inmates and remand prisoners held in Luxembourg’s three prisons – Schrassig, Givenich, and Uerschterhaff – climbed to an average of 810.4 in May this year.
This figure uses a decimal because many prisoners are not incarcerated for a full month. The previous year saw around one hundred fewer inmates, and five years ago there were approximately two hundred fewer.
Schrassig Prison has seen its population fall to 390 inmates, a decline attributed to the opening of Uerschterhaff Prison in Sanem nearly four years ago.
Uerschterhaff now houses 362 inmates, compared with 312 last year and 256 two years earlier. Givenich Prison had 63 inmates in May, a number which has fluctuated between 47 and 82 over the past five years.
While these numbers suggest a steady rise in the prison population, it appears that the rate of increase has not matched Luxembourg’s overall population growth, which may be seen as a positive development.
