Imprisonment of Juvenile Offenders in the Federal Republic of Germany (From European and North-American Juvenile Justice System, P 55-61, 1986, Hans-Jurgen Kerner, et al, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 105815
• Author(s): K P Rotthaus
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: West Germany (Former)

Annotation

This paper describes the facilities, programs, and effects for juveniles imprisoned on remand and sentencing in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Abstract

The Federal Republic of Germany has special prisons for those sentenced under juvenile law. In North Rhine Westfalia, with 17 million inhabitants, there are five borstals which accommodate about 2,000 juveniles. There are nine detention centers for boys and one for girls. The borstals are neither exclusively nor predominantly for minors. Juveniles generally serve short sentences (In 1983 30 percent stayed no longer than 6 months). Some sentences are determinate and others are indeterminate. Programs for both boys and girls focus on academic and vocational education. The occupational training for girls is not as broad as for the boys. Drug use is a problem in the borstals, as juveniles on furlough bring drugs back into the borstals. A study by Alexander Bohms indicates that one-third of a sample of boys released from borstals did not recidivate. Juvenile prisoners rarely serve their full sentences. Parole is supervised by probation officers for the full length of the sentence. Short-term and weekend detention is served in small jails.