Germany
Capital city — Berlin
Latest updates
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The NPM (Nationale Stelle zur Verhütung von Folter) indicated that one prisoner was in solitary confinement in 2021 for over a year in the correctional facility of Bautzen (Saxony) due to his mental illness and a lack of understanding of this illness. He could not be transferred to the Leipzig prison hospital, as it lacked available spaces. The NPM noted similar cases in the correctional facility of Schwalmstadt (Hesse).
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The CPT observed that psychiatric care was inadequate in the Bayreuth and Gelsenkirchen prisons. Prison management had trouble transferring prisoners with acute mental disorders to a suitable therapeutic environment.
Number of medical staff (FTE)
15,284
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The German NPM noted that, in the medical unit of the Bautzen (Saxony) correctional facility, one of the two posts for physicians was vacant and only two of the five possible posts for nurses were filled.
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In the correctional facilities in Baden-Württemberg, only around thirty of the 48.8 FTE positions for doctors are filled. In the Stuttgart-Stammheim correctional facility, 2.5 posts are expected to cover the medical care of 700 or so prisoners. The prison doctor is largely on his own to provide this care.
The prison service allows access to Internet
in some states
Internet use in prison is debated. Pilot projects are run to allow prisoners to access employment agencies and one probation assistance website. This is the case in the state of Thuringia. All other websites are blocked.
Thep risoners in safe custody (Sicherungsverwahrte) from Rosdorf prison (Göttingen) are rallying for provision of internet access. They have access to seven websites. These sites are censored.
The Berlin Justice senator, Dirk Behrendt, announced, in December 2021, that prisoners in the capital would have access to the internet. Prisoners would be able to access the press and learning resources online. Social media would remain inaccessible. Prisoners would be charged for the internet access. Berlin is backing the project and signs a six-year contract with a communications company. The prison for women in Lichtenberg would be the first one to welcome the programme mid-2022. The rest of the prisons in Berlin would then follow in its footsteps in 2023.
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On 1 December, the Lichtenberg (Berlin) correctional facility became the first German facility to have equipped all of its cells with multimedia systems. Prisoners can use them to make video calls from their cells, watch movies, play games or browse the web. They cannot use the Internet freely, and only a limited selection of sites, such as those of the Berlin Land, public libraries or the job centre, are available. Social media and services including Youtube, Netflix and Spotify are blocked. Email is not yet available. This new system makes contact with loved ones less expensive: the cost of a call dropped from 7 cents per minute to 3 cents. However, video calls cost 20 cents per minute. Senator Lena Kreck (Die Linke party) describes this digitisation as “an important step that should be taken in all prisons by October 2023”.
Prisoners are allowed to make external phone calls
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In Bavarian correctional facilities, telephone calls are not authorised except “in case of emergency”, once a month and by request. “Replacement” telephone calls were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, prisoners have been able to make calls twice a month for 20 minutes.
There are designated places for physical activities and sports
Most prisons have dedicated space for physical activities or sports. Prisoners have access to a gym even when no sport activities are planned.
Burg prison in Saxony-Anhalt offers yoga, pilates and bodybuilding classes.1
Lana Osment, “The Complexity of Rehabilitation in Open and Closed Prison Setting”, Lund University, 2018, p. 36. ↩
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The Hünfeld (Hesse) correctional facility schedules 225 hours of sport per prisoner per week broken up into three sessions. The activities on offer are football, basketball, table tennis, badminton, aerobics, spinning and fitness training. Ping-pong tables, fitness blocks and small basketball courts are available in the yard.
The prison service offers activities to prisoners
yes
There are not enough activities to offer to all prisoners outside of work or education.
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The German NPM noted the limited offering of sports and professional activities.
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Eight prisoners at the Plötzensee (Berlin) correctional facility participated in a play produced by aufBruch. This initiative gathers a group of professionals and prisoners to work on plays.
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The sociotherapeutic department of the Landsberg am Lech (Bavaria) correctional facility organises meetings with former prisoners. This initiative was launched to support prisoners’ reintegration by informing them of the challenges they may face after their release.
The duration for placement in solitary confinement is limited
yes, four weeks
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According to the Berlin Senate Department for Justice (Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Justiz), nine prisoners were placed in isolation for over 100 days in 2020 and 2021 in the correctional facility of Tegel (Berlin). The Minister for Justice in Lower Saxony reported that as of 29 August, five inmates had been in isolation for over a year in the Land.
Number of violent acts against prison staff
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Four prisoners attacked a prison officer at the Straubing prison in Bavaria. The agent’s neck was reportedly injured with a key. The perpetrators of the attack were placed in isolation then transferred to different facilities in Bavaria.
The Bavarian association of prison officers (Verband der Bayerischen Justizvollzugsbediensteten) has noted a growing number of attacks on prison officers despite recently reinforced security measures in Bavarian facilities (increased video surveillance, installation of emergency alarm systems). The Minister for Justice in Bavaria recorded 54 assaults on staff members in 2021. These assaults primarily involve intentional bodily injury, hostage taking and sequestration.
Number of hostage takings
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A prisoner attempted to escape from the correctional facility in Burg (Saxony-Anhalt). The man held two prison officers as hostages, one after the other. He took the first hostage when the cells were being closed for the night and managed to reach the exercise yard. He then changed hostages and demanded that other doors be opened. He was subdued within an hour.
Some prison facilities, units or cells implement high-security measures
Celle prison, in Lower Saxony, has a high-security (Sicherheitsstation) unit which has a capacity of ten people. Stammheim prison, in Stuttgart, also has a high-security unit which was built in the 1970s. In the first instance it is reserved for prisoners convicted of terrorism, notably members of the Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion, RAF).
CCTV:
CCTV is only authorised in certain cases when the authorities assess that is necessary for ensuring safety. The justification for CCTV must be stated in official documents and the individual concerned must have been warned. The camera being visible is not enough; the individual must be aware if the camera is recording.
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The special security cell of the correctional facility in Schwäbisch Hall (Baden-Württemberg) is not under video surveillance, in order to ensure the privacy of prisoners.
Prisoners are allowed to cook in their cells or in a shared space
in most facilities
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The Länder of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg increased subsidies for prisoners who cook for themselves by 5 to 25% to account for rising prices.
Sanitary facilities are clean, adequate and accessible
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The facilities of Straubing, Landsberg am Lech and Bautzen do not blur the video surveillance of the lavatories.
Showers are located in the cells/dormitories
in some facilities
In most facilities, the showers are located outside the cells. Certain facilities have recently installed showers inside the cells; for example, at the Heidering prison in Brandenburg.
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The German NPM reports that the communal showers in the Schwäbisch Hall correctional facility do not have partitions to ensure the prisoners’ privacy.
Prisoners sleep on
a bed
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In the correctional facilities of Schwäbisch Hall (Baden-Württemberg), Bautzen (Saxony) and Landsberg am Lech (Bavaria), only a mattress on the floor is provided in the special security cells.
[^note]. No other seating is available.
The law establishes a minimum standard for living space per prisoner
no
The floor space allocated to each prisoner is generally 8m2. This standard is not shared by all federal states.
A 2006 reform transferred the responsibility of the prison facility management to the federal states. Specific regulations were defined by the federal states with respect to facilities set up after this date.
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According to the German NPM, the minimum space necessary to maintain human dignity is not respected in the facilities of Landsberg am Lech (Bavaria) and Schwäbisch Hall (Baden-Württemberg). In Landsberg am Lech, cells with four beds have a surface of 16.98 m² and double cells, 9.92 m2. In Schwäbisch Hall, double cells have a surface of 9.13 m².
Foreign prisoners can be assisted by an interpreter
during the sentencing process
There is no legislation that guarantees an interpreter after the beginning of the prison sentence. This includes at medical visits and court hearings. A fellow inmate can act as an interpreter during medical visits.
Complaints must be made in German. There is a language barrier for certain inmates.
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Bavaria has implemented access to video interpretation in numerous correctional facilities. Sworn interpreters are available after a short wait for all requested languages. This will resolve any comprehension difficulties while maintaining confidentiality.
The prison regulations are translated for foreign prisoners
in certain cases
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The internal rules of the Bautzen correctional facility are available in German, Czech, Russian and Arabic.
Number and percentage of foreign prisoners
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According to Ralph Knispel, the lead prosecutor for the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Berlin, foreign nationals represented 50% of the prison population in Berlin in 2019. Citizens of 97 countries are incarcerated in Berlin’s prisons.
The law forbids solitary confinement for minors
Minors can only be placed in isolation for a maximum duration of two weeks (four weeks for adults).1
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) “Report to the German Government on the visit to Germany from 25 November 2015 to 7 December 2015”, 1 June 2017, p. 14. ↩
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A 16-year-old juvenile prisoner in pre-trial detention remained isolated in a cell for 23 hours per day for nine days in the Vechta facility in Lower Saxony. This Land has only one juvenile pre-trial detention facility, in Hamelin, and court hearings are held in a distant city. The minors are brought via public transport to a pre-trial detention facility for adults several days before their hearings. The Minister for Justice in Lower Saxony explains that isolation is unavoidable if no other minors are in the facility at the same time.
Security staff carry
non-lethal weapons
Security staff are not armed but they can obtain handcuffs and pepper spray from prison authorities. Firearms are only used if other methods fail and they are authorised in the event of a mutiny or an escape attempt.
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The prison guards at the Bautzen facility wear badges with their names. This measure enables prisoners to address the guards by name and could have a positive impact on prisoner-guard relations.
Number of prison guards (FTE)
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The German NPM observed that some of the facilities it visited were understaffed. In Schwäbisch Hall (Baden-Württemberg), each corridor holds 55 prisoners but is managed and monitored by only one guard. In Bautzen (Saxony), some guards are responsible for several units at once. At night, it is not always possible to have sufficient staff present to ensure a quick response to emergency calls.
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The German NPM noted a lack of personnel in block II of the Tegel correctional facility (Berlin).
Variation in the capacity of the prison facilities
decrease by 1.7%
As of 30th November 2018, the official capacity of the prison system was 74,386 places1.
Federal Statistical Office DEStatis (in German) ↩
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A new correctional facility is under construction in Passau (Bavaria). It is expected to be completed in 2027 and have a capacity of 450. It is also designed to hold up to 100 people awaiting deportation. The cost of construction is estimated at over 200 million euros.
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A new building is under construction at the Mannheim correctional facility (JVA). It will create 15 additional spaces, bringing the total to 30. The cost of construction is 3.5 million euros.
The prison service outsources the management of the facilities to private companies, either partially or fully
yes
Four facilities are operated by Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).
The first PPP facility, the Hünfeld prison, opened in Hesse in 2006. Forty percent of the staff are contracted with a private company called Steep. The Offenburg (Baden-Württemberg) and Burg bei Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt) prisons operate in PPP format.
Some private companies, such as Serco, provide “psychological, medical and educational support to prisoners besides offering video surveillance, catering, work and other services…”1
The Sentencing Project, “International Growth Trends in Prison Privatization”, August 2013. ↩
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The Hünfeld correctional facility in Hesse is partially privatised. The Minister for Justice of the Land of Hesse stated that around 40% of the services, including workshops, medical care, catering and cleaning, are provided by the private company steep GmbH. The overall management of the facility and decisions relating to security remain under the authority of the state.
Budget of the prison service
3430987308
dollars - € 3 067 133 287
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The Minister for Justice of the Land of Hesse doubled the 2023-2024 budget for the Land’s correctional facilities. He plans to add 43 posts.
Salaries are
significantly below the national minimum wage
The hourly rate in prison varies from €1 to €3. The minimum monthly salary is €1,200 on the job market. It is €300 in prison.
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Of the 3,500 prisoners in the correctional facilities in Saxony who practice professional activities, around 2,500 receive a maximum salary of 2.15 euros per hour. Deputy Juliane Nagel (Die Linke party) has called for an increase in the compensation of working prisoners.
A medical examination is performed upon admission
The timing of the examination and procedures vary according to the prison or state. Chest X-rays (diagnosis of tuberculosis) and blood tests are usually done to detect transmittable diseases (hepatitis A, B and C and HIV).
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Following its visit to 18 correctional facilities in December 2020, the CPT confirmed that newly-arrived prisoners received medical examinations shortly after arriving.
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A female inmate was kept in her cell 23 hours a day during her quarantine when she entered a juvenile detention centre in Schleswig. She was not given access to the showers, despite a handwritten request which went unanswered. She was not allowed to see her lawyer. She filed a complaint for these reasons and won the case.
Number of complaints filed by prisoners against the prison service
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A prisoner at the Bochum correctional facility protested the procedure for drug testing. The procedure requires surveillance to avoid manipulation of the samples by prisoners, and a prison officer must therefore have a clear view of the prisoner’s penis as he urinates. The Constitutional Court deemed the prisoner’s complaint admissible, as there are other options for drug testing. Since 2017, the North Rhine-Westphalia law on sentence execution has stated that prisoners may choose to have blood drawn from their fingertip rather than provide a urine sample.
Assignment of transgender prisoners to a specific facility depends on
their ID gender
Transgender individuals can face difficulties when trying to access the means to keep their own gender identity.
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Three prisoners were transferred to the Berlin women’s prison following an amendment to the law on sentence execution. This amendment enables transgender, intersex and non-binary prisoners to individually request whether they are assigned to a facility for men or for women.
Number of escapes
6
In 2015, there were seven escapes 1.
Council of Europe, “Annual Penal Statistics. Space I – Prison Populations. Survey 2016”, 2017, p.113. ↩
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On 17 September 2022, a man escaped from the open prison in Spandau. He had been transferred to the open-regime facility a few days before, on 13 September, to prepare for his release, scheduled for 26 October. He voluntary returned to the prison ten days after his escape and was placed in a closed facility. He is serving the rest of his sentence with no consequences: in Germany, escaping from prison is not punishable under criminal law.
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An inmate of the Essen correctional facility escaped during his hospitalisation for a broken jaw. The police searched for the escaped inmate. He was believed to have escaped while using the toilet.
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An inmate sentenced to a 150-day alternative sentence escaped from the open prison at the Brandenburg/Havel correctional centre. The federal police arrested him three days later and placed him in a prison in Berlin.
Number of recorded violent acts between prisoners
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In the prisons of Berlin, 218 assaults between prisoners were recorded in July 2022, compared with 319 in July 2021. Seventy-three fights and assaults were recorded within the juvenile correctional facility of Berlin. The Heidering prison, south of the capital, noted 63 acts of violence. Tegel correctional facility tallied 44 violent acts; the Moabit remand centre, 21. Three assaults were documented in the Berlin women’s prison.
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A fight broke out between two groups of inmates of different nationalities in the prison of Heidering, south of Berlin during their daily walk. One of the two groups threatened and blocked the other from using the kitchen, which triggered the altercation. Several people were injured, including guards. An additional walk schedule was set up to reduce the group by half. At least 136 such conflicts were recorded in 2021 in this prison, a high figure compared to other institutions in the German capital.
Every prison facility has a health care unit
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A new hospital was built in the correctional facility (JVA) of Leipzig (Saxony), replacing the former prison hospital built in 1913. The new facility can hold up to 80 prisoners (men and women). It has single and double rooms. In the former hospital, up to six patients could be assigned to the same room. The hospital specialises in psychiatry, but it also treats physical illnesses. An agreement enables prisoners from Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia to be hospitalised in Leipzig.
Prison density
82 %
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Hamburg’s six correctional facilities have a collective capacity of 2,099, with 1,893 of these spots in use, for an occupancy rate of around 90%. On 30 June 2022, there were 620 prisoners in 614 spots in the units for men at the Billwerder correctional facility (JVA).
Sentence adjustments can be granted during the incarceration
The release on parole is possible after half of the sentence is served for:
- sentences of less than two years
- first time conviction
The reduction in sentence is seldom granted. Release on parole is more often granted after two-thirds of the sentence is served.1
Frieder Dünkel, “The prison system in Germany” in The prison systems in the world, 2017, p. 20. ↩
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The Federal Justice administration stated that only about one prisoner in ten (11.6%) in Berlin is released after two thirds of their sentence.
The phones are located
in the corridors
In Heidering Prison (Brandenburg), the phones are located in the cells.
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Prisoners in Hamburg were given access to telephones in their cells. This measure had already been in place in other prisons in the country. Inmates would only have access to about 30 numbers that would have been checked and approved by the administration of the prison they are in to limit fraudulent use. This measure relieved both the inmates, who could have more contact with their loved ones, and the prison administrations, which could have more control over outside contacts and see the tensions associated with access to free phones reduced.
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Mental health concerns increased in Hamburg’s prisons as of the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic. This increase was accompanied by an increase in the daily doses of medication to treat mental health concerns. Some dosages doubled and even tripled. Member of Parliament Carola Ensslen showed concern about the role of medication in the treatment of mental health concerns and feared that it would replace therapy.
Prisoners are allowed to receive visits from their children or minor relatives
yes, and special arrangements are provided
Communal spaces are organised for visits from members of the same family. Rooms for more privacy can also be reserved.
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Prisons in North Rhine-Westphalia set up activities for prisoners to keep in touch with their children. A list of these activities provided by the Ministry of Justice to a Green parliamentary group included father-child days, trainings, story recordings on CD, egg hunts etc.. After the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, these activities had become rarer and the maintenance of links more difficult. Skype visits were also still available.
The prison service keeps record of incidents
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An inmate at Sieburg prison set fire to his mattress and clothes in front of a prison officer. The inmate was admitted to hospital and then transferred back to the prison, where he was kept under constant observation in a specially secured cell after his return. No other inmates were injured.
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A large-scale fire broke out in a solitary confinement cell at Weiterstadt prison. Only the inmate in the affected cell was injured and taken to hospital. Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire using heavy-duty respiratory protection. The cause of the incident was not confirmed.
Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)
70
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Bavarian prisons had a 20% vacancy rate. Programs had been in place in Bavaria for more than 30 years to reduce the use of incarceration. For example, community service and the termination of social benefits had been promoted as alternatives to incarceration.