Prison policy

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The term prison policy with regard to the basic ideas, taken in the sphere of politics or sanctioned decisions of the prison -backed enforcement objectives (eg. As retaliation , safety of the general public or rehabilitation ) and the manner how the prison sentence is enforced. Prison policy is thus embedded in the political system, in the political culture, in the general political and socio-economic situation as well as the corresponding “climate”, the political orientation of the respective government and, in particular, in the predominant determination of the relationship between the individual and the state or society.

Germany

Hamburg

Weimar Republic 1919–1933

The Hamburg prison policy during the Weimar Republic was dominated by the attempt to align the prison system to the ideal of rehabilitation . A key figure in this reform of the penal system, which was regarded as exemplary throughout the Reich, was the director of the Hamburg prison system, Christian Koch , who headed the prison system from 1919 to 1933. The Hamburg penitentiary system, spatially consisting of the Fuhlsbüttel penal institutions (today: JVA Fuhlsbüttel ) and the remand prison, fell into a crisis with the November Revolution of 1918, which had its roots in the Wilhelmine Empire and especially in the First World War . The legitimation (validity as legal) of the punishment got out of joint during this time. In the empire the principle of retribution applied . Upbringing offenders in prison had not been an essential dimension of prison policy. The opinion was increasingly widespread that this would not be a successful way of combating crime. During the First World War, the prisons served to suppress political opposition and protests, and in view of the food shortage, people were criminalized who would otherwise not have been caught by the judiciary. In the November Revolution, the displeasure about this erupted in several successful attacks on Hamburg prisons by revolutionaries and "masses" in which numerous prisoners were freed. It was also fermenting inside the prisons: the civil servants, understaffed because of military service, could hardly effectively ensure discipline among the prisoners. And many lower officials themselves no longer felt bound by the traditional principle of military obedience. So something had to be done: a reform of the penal system was needed! The main lines of this reform were:

  • Humanization of prisoner treatment, e.g. B. by
    • the abolition of corporal punishment , which is no longer practiced anyway
    • the abolition of head and beard hair shaving among prisoners
    • by expanding the opportunities for recreational activities (band, football, holding canaries, etc.).
  • Orientation of the penal system towards the reintegration of the offender into society
  • For this purpose, Hamburg hired officials who devoted themselves exclusively to the social care of the prisoners,
  • prison labor has been modernized to make it easier for prisoners to find work after release through:
    • the introduction of more meaningful jobs than the usual dull jobs like plucking werg or weaving mats
    • Work in modern workshops based on division of labor instead of the prisoner's work in his cell
    • Work with modern machines;
  • Introduction of the progressive system, i.e. a system of prisoner treatment in which they are divided into groups. From the entry group with the toughest prison conditions, they can work their way up through good behavior, i. H. move up into higher groups, where the prison conditions are increasingly relaxed.

This prison policy came to an end when the National Socialists came to power, who dismissed Christian Koch and other leading officials and gradually ended the reform project. Many of Koch's reform projects were only brought into law in the 1970s.

The CDU-led Senate 2001-2006

The CDU owed its chance in 2001 with Ole von Beust in a coalition with the Schill Party and FDP to provide the First Mayor to the suffering of the Hamburg (elected) population from a real or supposed lack of internal security . Appointed security advisor in the election campaign, Roger Kusch advanced to Justice Senator after the coalition's election victory. He became a controversial figure in Hamburg politics due to an idiosyncratic administration, public provocations and a “hard line” in Hamburg's judiciary and prison policy. He was released on March 27, 2006. Under his aegis, the most comprehensive and profound reform of the penal system since the late 1960s and early 1970s was carried out in Hamburg . Was at that time with Hamburg as a pioneer, the social rehabilitation as the main purpose of the penal system in federally Strafvollzugsgesetz anchored, the prison policy reached under Roger Kusch precisely this dominance of the rehabilitation concept. The Hamburg prison policy has been based on the following main lines since 2001:

  • Relativization of rehabilitation,
    • in particular, dismantling of prison places in the open prison
    • and increase in the number of places in the closed prison (characteristic of this reallocation was the reallocation of the JVA Billwerder, which was planned as an open prison under the old Senate, to one of the closed prison , which took place soon after the change of government )
  • Emphasis on the Strafvollzugsgesetz provided only secondarily criminal purpose of securing the general public, in particular by efforts escapes or abuse of execution relaxations ( parole , output , clearance reduce)
  • Increasing internal security in prisons, both to protect civil servants from violence and to protect weaker prisoners from being attacked by fellow prisoners.
  • Introduction of station-wise internal differentiation, a new edition of the progressive system , also known as the prison system in stages, where prisoners can earn relief from detention through good behavior. The prisoners' free movement in the star-shaped house 2 of the Fuhlsbüttel prison (“Santa Fu”) has been abolished. The prisoners housed according to the probation groups can only move freely on their ward (in building 2 the cells of a wing on one floor)
  • Conversion of the institution's internal drug policy by dismantling the syringe vending machines set up under the old Senate , stricter punishment for drug abuse, increasing drug-safe detention places with regular drug screening, etc., expanding the range of services for drug-dependent prisoners (e.g. acupuncture ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Sarodnick: "This house must become a house of horror ...". Prison system in Hamburg 1933–1945, pp. 333–381, in: Hamburg Justice Authority : “For leaders people and fatherland” Hamburg justice under National Socialism. In the first chapter of Sarodnik: “Prison before 1933”, the facts are described very well and understandably.
  2. ↑ Report of the judicial authority on the prison policy under Roger Kusch (pdf)

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