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Germany

Capital city — Berlin

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Panorama

Security, order, and discipline

Security measures

Some prison facilities, units or cells implement high-security measures

yes

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.

  • The solicitor for Daniela Klette, a former Red Army Faction terrorist, criticised inappropriate prison conditions in Vechta Prison including constant video surveillance, isolation, and lack of access to books, newspapers and pens. The Ministry for Justice in Lower Saxony denied allegations of ill-treatment, and the department’s spokesperson confirmed that these measures were imposed by the prison service and were appropriate.

    i
    27/03/2024
    / Taz

Prisoners are classified according to their supposed level of dangerousness

yes

Full-body search methods and procedures are controlled and can be regular and without any specific suspicions. Full-body searches must be carried out respectfully and in two stages; only half of the body is stripped in each phase.

Mechanical means of restraint (Fixierung) are used as a last resort and under strict medical supervision.

The NPM reports that people placed in the security cells at the Schwäbisch Hall (Baden-Württemberg) facility were sometimes handcuffed and shackled with steel handcuffs. The security cells at the Tegel (Berlin) facility are fitted with a pair of leather handcuffs and a pair of metal handcuffs. According to management, the quick-release metal handcuffs are used first as “a means of physical restraint to secure prisoners quickly in tense situations”. Once prisoners are secured, the metal shackles can be replaced by padded leather ones.[^anpt] [^anpt]: National Agency for the Prevention of Torture, (Nationale Stelle zur Verhütung von Folter), Annual Report 2021, p. 95 (in German).

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.

Most states make a strict distinction between religious practice and radicalisation prevention.

Radicalisation prevention is implemented within the framework of social therapy programmes.

The federal state has not developed a national policy for the prevention of radicalisation in prisons.

Only some states implement prevention programmes. This is the case in Bavaria with the MIND programme. 2,700 officers are trained in the detection and prevention of radicalisation in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Incidents

The prison service keeps record of incidents

yes

  • A person incarcerated at Aschaffenburg Prison set fire to his mattress. He sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital. Several surveillance officers were treated for possible smoke inhalation. The motive for the incident remains unknown.

    i
    04/05/2024
    / Süddeutsche Zeitung

Number of escapes

303

i
2020
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Rapport 2021, p. 119.

The number of escapes decreased by 4.11% between January 2020 (316)1 and January 2021 (303).

  1. Council of Europe, SPACE I, 2020 Report, p. 117. ↩

  • An incarcerated man made an escape attempt from Heidering Prison, south of Berlin. He was caught while trying to leave through a hole in the fence, assisted by three people. His accomplices have not been found.

    i
    26/04/2024
    / Berliner Morgenpost

Individual acts of protest are recorded

-

Disciplinary regime

Breaches of discipline are clearly defined in writing

yes

Federal penitentiary law does not define disciplinary offences. They are governed by regional prison authorities in most states.

Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony do not define disciplinary offences. 1

The main offences are:

  • a lack of respect for staff and other inmates
  • non-compliance with timetables
  • possession of a phone
  • theft
  • drug use
  • bringing drugs into the facility

There is no definition of a serious breach of discipline which is punishable by solitary confinement for up to four weeks.

  1. Frieder Dünkel, “Le système pénitentiaire allemand” in Les systèmes pénitentiaires dans le monde, 2017, p. 13. ↩

Disciplinary sanctions are the following:

  • official warning
  • limiting use of finances (maximum three months)
  • limiting access to reading, radio and television (maximum three months)
  • limiting access to items and leisure activities (maximum three months)
  • revoking access to leisure activities (maximum four weeks)
  • limiting external communication (maximum three months)
  • solitary confinement (maximum four weeks)

Solitary confinement in a disciplinary cell is not applied in Brandenburg.1

  1. Frieder Dünkel, “Le système pénitentiaire allemand”, février 2024, p. 10 (in French). ↩

Disciplinary offences are investigated

in some cases

Violation allegations are not automatically subject to an investigation. Investigations generally confirm the allegations made by authorities.

The decision to apply a disciplinary sanction must be subject to an adversarial debate

yes

Adversarial debates take place before a disciplinary council.

In order to be seen by a judge, a prisoner must request it from the Court for the Execution of Prison Sentences (Strafvollstreckungskammer) of the regional court which the facility belongs to.

Disciplinary punishments fall within the jurisdiction of administrative law. Courts simply verify the correct application of the texts and their decision is usually processed within four to five months.

Hearings are often short and sanctions are frequently declared quickly.

Prisoners are allowed to be assisted by a lawyer

yes

Prisoners threatened with disciplinary action can benefit from legal assistance in most cases but exceptions are possible.

Penitentiary laws vary from one state to another. German penitentiary law is complex and there are not many specialists in this area. The procedures are long and the amounts of money allocated to legal assistance are small.

The disciplinary council, a collegial body, decides on the suitable punishments.

Prisoners may appeal against disciplinary sanctions

yes

Within two weeks of a decision, the prisoner can appeal. This must be written in German.

The appeal may consist of:

  • The cancellation of a decision (Anfechtunsklage)
  • A court declaring the illegality of the decision. (Feststellungsantrag). This latter approach may be adopted in order to avoid a similar decision being made in the future. It also makes it possible to request compensation.

Prisoners can also access two other levels of jurisdiction :

  • The Regional Appeal Court (Oberlandesgericht)
  • The Federal Court (Bundesgerichtshof)

Five percent of decisions are overturned after an appeal. 1

  1. Frieder Dünkel, “Le système pénitentiaire allemand” in Les systèmes pénitentiaires dans le monde, 2017, p. 16. ↩

Disciplinary sanctions affect the length of the sentence. The possibility of obtaining a sentence adjustment after receiving a disciplinary sanction is considerably reduced.

Prisoners who have recurring or severe disciplinary sanctions can be transferred from open to closed facilities.

Solitary confinement

Solitary confinement can be used as

  • punishment
  • protection

Solitary confinement as a punishment is abolished in the state of Brandenburg.

Solitary confinement is decided

  • by the disciplinary board
  • at a magistrate’s order
  • by the prison governor

The duration for placement in solitary confinement is limited

yes, four weeks

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 2022, five inmates had been in isolation for over a year in the Land.

Solitary confinement can be extended

yes

The Sentence Reduction Council (Vollzugskonferenz) makes decisions on renewing placements in solitary confinement.

Prisoners in solitary confinement receive regular medical care

yes

Solitary confinement cells are smaller than other cells. They are equipped with a bed, a metal toilet, and a sink.

Prisoners in solitary confinement have the right to at least one hour outside per day.

A prisoner in solitary confinement loses the right to participate in activities, work, and training.