Romania's transition from communism to democracy has involved many changes. In the area of corrections, Romania has established new laws and procedures that are intended to bring its overcrowded facilities and treatment of offenders up to the standards of other European democracies. As of January 2003, the Romanian General Department of Penitentiaries, under the Ministry of Justice, administered 43 facilities, with 3 being juvenile facilities and 5 prison hospitals. The incarceration rate is 212 per 100,000 people. Currently the prison system is more than 25 percent over capacity, with nearly 22 percent of the inmates being pretrial detainees or remand inmates. In a 2002 Amnesty International report, Romanian prisons were described as crowded, with poor living conditions, lack of activities, and inadequate medical services. In 1990, capital punishment was repealed and replaced with life imprisonment. Sentences of imprisonment must be for a fixed amount of time; however, juveniles may be confined for an indefinite period until they reach 18 years old or after completing a court-imposed education measure. In addition to fines and imprisonment, a court may place offenders under restrictions and allow them to remain in the community. Suspended sentences, with or without mandatory surveillance, may also be imposed by the court under certain legal circumstances. In order to reduce prison crowding, Romanian legislators are considering various types of alternative sanctions.