The majority of female prisoners are placed in separate areas within male prisons. There are seven female-only facilities and these are located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Hesse.

In Wilsdruff prison, in Saxony, female prisoners may have the opportunity to serve their sentences in open regimes. In January 2023, three women had joined this scheme.

Body searches are carried out by female members of staff.

Some specific need of women are taken into account.

Women have access to jobs, teaching and activities. The standard of training and activities in the female-only facilities is generally lower than in male facilities. Aftercare is also not of a suitable level due to a lack of staff and cooperation with services supporting inmates’ reinsertion to society (Straffälligenhilfe)¹. Only 2.5% of counselling places are reserved for female inmates.

There are ten living spaces for children in prison with their mothers ¹. They are located in nine states: Baden-Württemberg (14 places), Bavaria (26 places), Berlin (seven places), Hamburg (four places), Hesse (23 places), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (two places, for young mothers), Lower Saxony (14 places), North Rhine-Westphalia (16 places), and Saxony (five places).²

The children are looked after externally during the day so that the mothers can work.

Fröndenberg Prison, in North Rhine-Westphalia, brings 16 mothers and their children (maximum age of six years old) together in independent flats which consist of a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room and patio. ¹

A similar facility also exists in Vechta Prison, in Lower Saxony.

Minors are assessed within a specific court system in line with two legislative texts: book eight of the social code for the welfare of children and young persons (Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB), achtes Buch (VIII) - Kinder- und Jugendhilfe) and the Youth Court Act (Jugendgerichtsgesetz, JGG). Young adults aged between 18 and 21 can be assessed in a juvenile court (68% of cases) or in an adult court (32% of cases). ¹ The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) reported, in 2020, that minors may still be questioned without the presence of a lawyer or a trusted person.² Jugendgerichtsgesetz offers more protection as the maximum prison sentence is set at ten years rather than 15.³

Jugendgerichtsgesetz gives out the following punishments ¹:

• Educational programmes
• Disciplinary sanctions (fines, community service, etc.)
• Suspended sentences for convictions with less than two years of prison time
• Five year prison sentences or ten years in the most serious cases

There are 29 juvenile detention centres in the 16 states. In 2013, young adults (between 18 and 24 years old) represented 90.6% of the population of these facilities while minors (14 to 18 years old) represented 9.4%. These facilities for minors are not overpopulated. [^overcro] The Land of Lower Saxony only has one juvenile pre-trial detention facility, in Hamelin. 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. [^overcro]: Frieder Dünkel, “Juvenile Justice, Sentencing and Youth Imprisonment in Germany”, University of Greifswald, 2018.

Juveniles spend at least eight hours per day in their cell whilst they also have access to physical activities in fresh air and academic and vocational training. Young inmates can take part in training programmes. For example, the juvenile facility of Neustrelitz (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) offers training in carpentry, metalwork, cooking and farming. Preparing inmates for reinsertion into society is carried out from the beginning of the sentence ¹. They also benefit from longer visits than the adult inmates.

Monitoring staff in juvenile facilities do not receive specific training. They often possess previous education qualifications before they begin education in the penitentiary sector. Staff have the support of social workers and counsellors. There are therapy centres in all juvenile facilities.¹

Disciplinary action is a last resort as staff prioritise mediating and resolving conflicts.²

Overall, the most represented nationalities in the federal states are Turkish, Moroccan, Polish and Romanian. This representation differs from one state to another.

Illegal stays are punishable by one year in prison. It can be up to three years if the offender has come onto national territory after being detained or deported in another country. (section 95 of the Establishment and Residence Act).

Foreign inmates can make phone calls to their home country. It is up to inmates to pay for the cost of phone calls and the call price is higher in prison than in the outside world. Phone calls are managed by the company Twilio.

Those close to foreign inmates do not benefit from a set visit schedule. Foreign inmates are rarely allowed to leave facilities.

German law establishes no distinction between foreign and German inmates but, in practice, prison conditions are more difficult for foreign inmates. Their access to certain rights, whether that be vocational training or participating in activities, is suspended during the assessment of their eventual deportation by the federal office. The inmate’s opinion is not taken into account during this assessment.

Prisoners serving long-term sentences are not subject to a specific detention system.

The Penal Code offers life sentences for the following offences: plotting a war of aggression (section 80), high treason against the Federal Republic (section 81), and assassination (section 211).

Individuals convicted of life sentences have the opportunity of a conditional release after serving 15 years of prison time (section 57a of the Penal Code). Counsellors and social workers evaluate the risk of repeat offence as well as the individual’s ability to be part of society. Only prisoners assessed as “non-dangerous” are granted conditional release.

After serving their sentence, a prisoner can be placed under preventive detention (Sicherungsverwahrung). This is carried out for individuals who have been assessed as dangerous to society by social workers and they are placed in specialist facilities. Restrictions to freedom are less severe than in the closed facilities ¹. The amount of individuals in these institutions is increasing. There were 508 in 2014 and 561 in 2017.

There are limitations to the duration of pre-trial detention and the majority of cases are assessed within six months. The maximum duration of pre-trial detention is one year. It can be longer than six months but “only if there are particular issues, a case with unusual severity or another major reason which make the assessment impossible” (section 121 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). At the end of the statutory time limit, untried prisoners must be released unless the court can reasonably justify a continuation of the pre-trial detention period.

The number of people released from remand detention is increasing due to excessively long criminal proceedings. At least 300 people were released from remand detention for exceeding the legal limit of pre-trial detention between 2017 and 2022, including 73 or more in 2022.

An individual placed in custody can appeal for a revision of the decision at any point (section 117 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The claimant can receive free legal assistance in the event of an appeal against the decision to remain in custody, or if the length of the proceedings is considered excessive.¹ This requirement is not necessary for the first hearing. It is rare that the accused will have legal assistance during the hearing which decides the placement in pre-trial detention.

Pre-trial detentions are automatically re-assessed after six months by a provincial appeal court (Oberlandesgericht). It must then be re-examined every three months. ²

Untried prisoners do not benefit from a special regime of detention in line with the presumption of their innocence. They have the same rights as convicted prisoners but some of these rights are restricted in practice.

Untried prisoners are not generally allowed to receive or make phone calls.¹ Access to leisure and activities is limited.

Prisoners belonging to certain ethnic and religious groups have the same liberties as other prisoners.

Authorities do not offer specific protection for LGBTI persons. Staff are not particularly aware of their situations.

The Trans Menschen in Haft Organisation has the goal of legally informing and helping LGBTI prisoners and they particularly look after transgender persons. A detailed report on the current situation was published in August 2018.

Elderly individuals have access to specific medical care and their living conditions vary from one state to another.

Constance prison (Baden-Württemberg) has a specific area for older people (62 years old and above). All of the cells are open between 7am and 10pm. Special programs including dedicated outings for shopping and cooking lessons are offered in order to combat loneliness and social isolation.

Prisons in North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Bavaria have specific areas for elderly prisoners. In Berlin, they are mixed with other prisoners but they benefit from specific programmes. ¹

Work is not compulsory for people older than 65 years old.

The law does not offer any early release for elderly prisoners.

Work is not compulsory for prisoners who receive a disability pension. ¹