Below is a breakdown of prisoners based on the prison term served:

• Up to 3 months: 6,072 (12%)
• 3 months to 1 year: 17,627 (34%)
• 1 to 5 years: 21,880 (42%)
• 5 to 15 years¹: 3,672 (7%)
• Life sentence: 2,392 (5%)

DEStatis – The Federal Statistical Office, 31/03/2017, available in English, click here for German

Each federal state has had its own prison law since 2006. This is established based on the Federal Prison Act of 1977. The Federal Prison Laws are relatively similar to the old federal framework. ¹

“The judicial system of the federal state supervises the prison facilities. It can delegate this power to the Department for Execution of Prison Sentences (Justizvollzugsämte)” (Section  151 of the Federal Prison Law).

There are two types of prison systems: closed (geschlossen) and open (offen). The open prison system is applicable to prisoners serving a short sentence and not posing any physical threat to others. Furthermore, it is also extended to certain prisoners serving the end of their sentence. In such cases, the open prison system facilitates their rehabilitation needs.|^rein]

The open prison facilities are designed to accommodate a rehabilitation centre. The prisoners work outdoors all day and return to the facility at night. The number of open prison facilities has increased, with Berlin being one of the federal states which has the largest number of prisoners in semi-open prison facilities (30%).¹

The daily detention cost borne by a prisoner was €133.83 in 2013.¹ No recent figure is available.

There are several types of prison facilities based on the size of prison population.

• Facilities for defendants in pre-trial detention (Untersuchungshaftanstalt)

Facilities for convicted prisoners:

• For newly convicted prisoners (Justizvollzugsanstalt für den Erstvollzug)
• For repeat offenders (Justizvollzugsanstalt für den Regelvollzug)
• High-security facilities for long-term prisoners (Langstrafenanstalt)
• For juveniles and young adults (Jugendstrafanstalt)
• For women (Frauengefängnis)
• Social-therapeutic facilities (Sozialtherapeutische Anstalt)
• Open facilities (Justizvollzugsanstalt für den offenen Vollzug)

The Bielefeld-Senne prison (North Rhine-Westphalia) is the largest open facility in Europe. It is also the largest prison in Germany with 1,740 prison cells. The Stadelheim prison in Munich (Bavaria) has 1,379 prison cells. The Tegel prison (Berlin) currently has 950 prison cells. It previously had 1,700 prison cells before the oldest section of the prison was closed in 2015. The Itzehoe prison in Schleswig-Holstein is one of the smallest prison facilities in Germany with just 32 prison cells.

The German federal states with the largest number of prison facilities are mainly located in South-East of the country: Bavaria (36), North Rhine-Westphalia (36), Baden-Württemberg (19), Hesse (16) and Lower Saxony (13) - DEStatis – The Federal Statistical Office.

The German federal states with the least number of prison facilities are located in the North of Germany: Bremen (one), Saarland (two), Saxony-Anhalt (four) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (four).

There are Prison Service Schools which provide training courses in order to become Prison Officers (Justizvollzugsschulen). The age criteria varies according to federal state. The age group for recruitment is generally between 18 to 40 years.

The candidates should have a secondary education diploma (nine years, Hauptschule) followed by professional training. Besides this, a junior high school diploma course is also accepted (ten years, Realschule). Candidates should pass a physical fitness test, the requirements of which are similar to those outlined for PDV 300 Directive of police services. The duration of the training course is two years. The course is divided into theoretical and practical stages. The students receive training in the organisation of services, criminal law, rights and duties of officers, constitutional rights, psychology and criminology, to name a few.¹

The average base salary of an officer is about €2,800. A pay rise is given every two years. The prison officers are also eligible for promotion. The salaries of the highest-paying positions fall between €3,200-€3,800.¹

The government is responsible for nearly half of the medical expenses of prison officers. The staff may benefit from public service pension schemes². The average gross monthly income in Germany was from €3,771 in 2017.

The officers work for 41 hours per week, on a three shift system. They work one weekend each month.