Abolish prisons? - What works better than incarceration | DW Documentary

Approximately 58,000 people are currently incarcerated in German prisons. Over half of them reoffend after their release. These statistics raise doubts about the prison system. Is something fundamentally wrong with German prisons?

To understand what prison does to people, journalist Frank Seibert voluntarily goes to jail. For a few hours, a cell door closes behind him. Isolation and the sudden loss of control change everything, he says after his "release".

What good does imprisonment do? Lawyer and former prison governor Thomas Galli says: nothing! He would release 90 per cent of people behind bars on parole. Prison means social exclusion. But it is also expensive, costing the state some €200 per prisoner, per day. In total, this means the system costs taxpayers over €10 million - every single day. Thomas Galli would rather see that money invested in social work and therapy for offenders.

René Müller has been working as a prison officer for over 20 years and disagrees. Locking up criminals serves the purposes of general safety, deterrence and a sense of justice, he says.

Frank Seibert explores the question: Who is right? To find answers, he meets with criminal law expert Kristin Drenkhahn from the Free University of Berlin, who is investigating the effect of the social climate in prisons on rehabilitation. Former prisoner Thomas, who attempted to kill a woman, describes this atmosphere from a very personal perspective. Prison changes people - but not for the better, in most cases, he concludes.

Neuroscientist Simone Kühn from the Max Planck Institute in Berlin and psychiatrist Johannes Fuß from the University of Duisburg/Essen are investigating the behavior and associated brain changes of prisoners. This is the world's first research project to investigate whether life behind bars is so monotonous and lacking in stimulation that certain regions of the brain shrink or even become inactive. Does prison make people sick, rather than better fit for life after their sentence ends?

In Norway, the then Minister of Justice asked himself this question back in the late 1980s, when recidivism rates were alarmingly high. To answer it, he convened a group of experts. Lawyer Are Høidal was one of its members. Frank Seibert meets Høidal in a prison near Stavanger. This prison operates according to what’s known as the ‘normality principle.’ This means no one serves a sentence under stricter circumstances than necessary for the security in the community, and that all criminals are treated with respect and kindness. Prisoners who cooperate - and that is most of them - are allowed to move to a residential area after a short time. They live here in small communities, without prison bars.

[Warning: This documentary addresses the topic of suicide. If you are suffering from serious emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate to seek professional help. Details of support available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: https://www.befrienders.org/ ]

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