Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) – More than 300 convicted criminals were initially not given a place in the forensic prison in North Rhine-Westphalia last year. A waiting list applies to them, said the NRW Ministry of Justice at the request of the German Press Agency.
The 319 offenders were less serious cases, usually drug addicts who are supposed to complete their withdrawal in the penitentiary. The waiting list does not apply to perpetrators who were classified as dangerous or who were in custody. None of them had to be released for lack of space, it was said.
Offenders are sent to the penitentiary if they are classified as mentally ill or addicted. According to the Ministry of Health, more than two thirds of the forensic clinics in North Rhine-Westphalia were overcrowded last year – the average overcrowding rate was more than nine percent. In total, a good 200 more people were housed there than there were places available.
The construction of additional psychiatric facilities was decided in 2012. By 2026, 750 additional places are to be created. There are currently 17 psychiatric institutions for criminals in NRW.
The number of offenders housed in psychiatric institutions and rehabilitation centers has increased over the long term. As of January 1, 2023, a total of 3,500 of them were accommodated in such facilities, ten years earlier on January 1, 2013 there were around 3,000.
