Ansip, who was the mayor of Tartu when the prison was built, said that he was against a large prison at the time. He does not now say that he was right. He does not consider renting out prison spaces to be bad. Ansip emphasized that he is not an expert, but he is familiar with prison topics.
Ansip said that he is bothered when people are scared. For example, it is said that Tartu will become a new Guantanamo. He believes that the existence of prison spaces is important for national defense. Ansip noted that it is difficult to accurately predict the number of prison spaces. He mentioned that wealthy countries also rent prison spaces. For example, Belgium and Norway rent spaces in the Netherlands.
Ansip said that Estonia cannot simply close the prison. Sweden pays a good price for the prisoners. He recalled that the teachers' strike was over 10 million euros. Ansip emphasized that the safety of Estonian people is important. He researched how renting out prison spaces affects other countries. He found that crime did not increase, but it is difficult for prisoners to reintegrate into society.
The current mayor of Tartu, Urmas Klaas, said that every activity has risks. He emphasized that no one has escaped from Tartu Prison. Klaas said that the relatives of prisoners often do not come to visit because traveling is expensive. The prison service checks visitors. Klaas noted that renting the prison creates new jobs and preserves existing ones.
The Estonian Internal Security Service warns that renting out prison spaces may bring security threats. For example, there may be a danger of Islamic extremism or criminal activity. The Internal Security Service emphasized that prisoners related to terrorism must not be brought to Estonia. Tartu Prison has 933 spaces and currently houses close to 300 prisoners.