Correctional officer
Prison officer is a job title in the field of justice in the public service in Germany . Correctional officers are usually employed as state officers in a correctional facility .
Job description
Correctional officers work as prison staff in prisons . They act according to the rules of the Prison Act (Prison Act) and the execution of a sentence order (StVollstrO) and to consummate the remand after the Criminal Procedure Code (and which entered into force on 1 March 2010 remand prison law (UVollzG) that the old remand Regulations (UVollzO) has replaced) . Furthermore, extensive knowledge of the StGB , StVG , WaffG and OwiG is important. The career of the general prison service in the correctional facilities belongs to the career group of the middle and upper service. The JV officers of the middle prison service usually perform their duties in uniform. JV officials of the higher service are no longer obliged to do this.
Fields of activity
The officials of the general prison service are mainly responsible for the care, supervision and care of the prisoners in the penal institutions. The officials are supported by special specialist services (such as social workers, psychologists, doctors, pedagogues, pastors, etc.) in the treatment of prisoners. However, an important part of the work is also to support the prisoners in later being able to lead a life of social responsibility without criminal offenses. The broad range of tasks for maintaining security and order in the institutions is one of the other tasks. The officers are obliged to wear uniforms with the state coat of arms and are mainly employed in alternating shifts (early, late and night shift).
In order to guarantee the security and order in the correctional facilities, the officials exercise sovereign rights. This entitles you to carry out cell, area, plant, warehouse and personal checks at any time of the day or night. Searches for alcohol, drugs, weapons and other prohibited items. Correspondence with the outside world is also monitored and controlled by the prison officers in accordance with the legal requirements for detainees on remand, taking into account the special instructions from the judge or the public prosecutor's office . Mail traffic and telephone traffic are also monitored. The officers are not only allowed to check prisoners, but also their visitors, strangers and vehicles.
Here, too, the focus is on finding smuggling routes and preventing the introduction of prohibited objects. Service dogs are used for support. If prohibited objects are seized, the locally responsible public prosecutor's office or the specialist department of the criminal police will initiate criminal proceedings. These are the special tasks of the official security service and / or. of the security officer, who perform the duties of the investigating officer, inside and outside the correctional facility. These officers are specially trained prison officers whose main duties include: breaking subcultures within prisons, initial investigations and securing evidence in the event of criminal offenses, general and special security. The officials create the special security measures in cooperation with the JVA lawyers and enforce coercive measures in cooperation with other prison officials.
Every prison officer must generally expect to take immediate coercive measures. Measures both to protect the prisoner (risk of suicide) and to protect the general public and in particular to maintain the security and order of the respective penal institution are conceivable. According to his legal mandate, the civil servant is obliged to pursue escaping prisoners under all circumstances and with every available means and to guarantee their return to the responsible prison (right of arrest). The protection of the general public has top priority here.
Prison officers are also active outside the prisons. In connection with executions and demonstrations of prisoners, which are inevitably to be carried out outside of the institutions (e.g. to introduce prisoners to specialist doctors, demonstrations in court, guarding in hospitals, statements about relatives of the prisoners). In some cases, these demonstrations must also be carried out forcibly, e.g. B. Presentation for the main hearing. In addition, the officials are also responsible for cleanliness and order. To prevent epidemic diseases, coercive medical measures are sometimes used when prisoners are extremely unclean. Then cleaning and disinfection measures must be carried out. Furthermore, the employees work closely with courts, public prosecutors, penal enforcement chambers and the police .
Since the execution should be adapted as far as possible to the living conditions in freedom, there is a considerable risk to the officers in the event of resistance, since the prisoner also has objects that can be used as weapons. For this purpose, special task forces in the prisons are sometimes equipped with protective equipment to prevent the worst. But even that does not prevent the officers from being injured in an emergency. The officials use firearms to carry out these tasks or to use direct coercion. In addition, they have other weapons ( batons , irritants such as pepper spray ) and various shackles (e.g. handcuffs , ankle cuffs ) at their disposal. In addition, special forms such as wearing a bondage belt or similar can be arranged. Furthermore, the employees have been trained in self-defense. This is regularly trained by specially trained BKS / deployment trainers within the penal system.
In addition to the normal emergency vehicles, the so-called prisoner transporters (GTW), the penal system has extensive transport systems for prisoners. The - permanently necessary - prisoner transports are also carried out by correctional officers, except in Bavaria, where the transport department of the police is responsible for the transport. According to the GTV, the transport vehicles can be equipped with a special signal. Deviations from this are only permitted with special justification (vehicle that is only used for fiscal trips, etc.).
In addition to this large number of points, correctional officers perform various services in the medical field as paramedics. Both care and emergency services are the order of the day here.
Most prisons also have their own task force. These are specially trained prison officers whose field of activity in the prison consists of securing or transporting dangerous prisoners, storming prison cells, securing court buildings, court processes or the prison itself. These officers have special weapons such as an irritant spray device , telescopic baton or various firearms. The officers usually do their job masked and in protective clothing so that the prisoners do not recognize who they are in front of them when they are transferred to specially secured cells.
In addition to the individual task forces in the penal institutions, the penal system in Baden-Wuerttemberg has a state-wide special unit Security Group in Baden-Wuerttemberg (SGJ-BW) , which is comparable to a SEK unit of the police. The SGJ-BW officials have their own vehicles, protective clothing, and an extensive range of weapons and are assigned directly to the Ministry of Justice, which also gives them the orders.
Requirements and training
The dual training usually lasts two years. B. in a later use z. B. Nursing service, factory service can be shortened to 1.5 years (in North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland the training period is also 2 years even if the master craftsman's certificate is already available), if you have learned a corresponding profession (e.g. nurse). The theoretical sections take place in a correctional school; the practical training phases are carried out in various prisons.
The admission requirements differ depending on the federal state. Applicants across all countries must meet the criteria of the so-called PDV 300, which is also used nationwide for employment in the police force. This includes, among other things, that applicants must have an appropriate BMI (Body Mass Index) d. H. be neither underweight nor overweight. An impeccable certificate of good conduct is also a prerequisite for employment as a correctional officer.
In order to be hired in Berlin , you need either a middle school leaving certificate or a vocational qualification with completed vocational training. Employment takes place between the ages of 21 and 45. In Hesse , a secondary school leaving certificate followed by vocational training or a secondary school leaving certificate is required. The maximum age is usually 40 years, although exceptions are possible, including under the Soldiers Supply Act.
Burdens and framework conditions
Because of the burdens and power potential of the service, a qualified selection must be made when recruiting personnel. Nevertheless it came z. B. in August 2012 on the release of four prison officers: The Hamburger Morgenpost reported on the violent fantasies of the officers who had discussed on Facebook the best place to shoot the prisoners. Since the prisoners are often hostile to the officers, the officers are under high psychological stress. However, thanks to their two-year training and practical experience, the law enforcement officers are usually able to deal professionally with critical situations. Immediate coercion is seen only as a last resort.
The proportion of early retirement and sick leave is at a high level. In the federal states, the proportion of early retirement is between 46 and 56 percent. North Rhine-Westphalia has the highest value with 56%.
The officers belong to the group of people who are generally not checked when entering and leaving the prison. In 2012, for example, two officers from the Rheinbach prison and eight prisoners stood before the court as members of a drug gang because they were alleged to have smuggled drugs.
Your interests are represented by the staff council , among others .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Job profile of a prison officer on gehalt-tipps.de, accessed on November 20, 2013./
- ↑ Tasks in the prison at www.jva-muenster.nrw.de, accessed on November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Civil servant in the middle prison service (PDF) on planet-beruf.de, accessed on February 7, 2017.
- ↑ Justizvollzugsbeamter / Justizvollzugsbeamtin on gehalt.de, accessed on November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Areas of activity of the prison ( Memento from May 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), on justizvollzug-bayern.de, accessed on November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Employment requirements for general prison service in Berlin
- ↑ Requirements for employment for general prison service at www.justizvollzughessen.de, accessed on February 3, 2016
- ↑ Stephanie Lamprecht: JVA Billwerder - After the Facebook scandal: prison guard on leave! In: Hamburger Morgenpost . August 27, 2012, accessed March 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Prison guards helped drug gangs on express.de, accessed on November 19, 2013.
