"The number of young people in custody rose significantly in the reporting year. There were 125 young people in custody in 2024. At the end of 2025, there were 182, an increase of around 46 per cent in less than a year. Due to overcrowding, juveniles are often detained together with adults. This is a dramatic situation," emphasises Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz. The Parliamentary Report 2025 again documents numerous cases of precarious detention conditions, including
- In mid-March 2025, 327 inmates were housed in the St. Pölten prison. The juvenile ward had to be closed due to the high pressure on the prison population. Four juveniles were placed in other wards, where they were housed in multi-person detention rooms with adults.
- In August 2025, five juveniles in Wr. Neustadt prison were not housed in their own unit. There was also no occupational therapy, social pedagogy or child and adolescent psychiatric care.
Juvenile detention centre Münnichplatz at 114 percent capacity
After years of delays during the renovation, the new Vienna Münnichplatz Juvenile Detention Centre was officially opened in January 2026. "After many hurdles, the conditions were basically good. However, Münnichplatz is now already 114 % utilised. Pressure on the surface and staff shortages are major problems. The new centre was supposed to relieve the entire eastern region. We are a long way from achieving this," says Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz.
- Münnichplatz is designed for 72 places. Currently, 82 young people are detained there (as of 20 April 2026). The Directorate General has now even increased the maximum capacity utilisation to 90 places. According to the Ministry of Justice: "In order to ensure optimal conditions in juvenile detention, the capacity is to be expanded at the beginning of May." Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz sharply criticises: "Putting the expansion in a positive light can really only be a bad joke! Let me be very clear: this is by no means a good thing. By increasing the capacity of the facility, it will be overstretched even before it is up and running properly."
- The overcrowding is partly compensated for by bunk beds. This means that the one- or two-person occupancy recommended for juveniles is no longer possible.
- A further consequence is that the minimum room size per inmate stipulated by the Ministry of Justice can no longer be adhered to.
- 60 posts in the executive service are planned for Münnichplatz. There are currently only 43 people available, 10 of whom are on duty (some of whom have no prior knowledge of working in the juvenile prison system).
"Too few prison guards means few employment opportunities and long lock-up times for juvenile inmates. There are new sports and exercise facilities in the inner courtyard. But without sufficient prison officers, they cannot be utilised. This situation is intolerable for staff and inmates alike. When both staff and inmates tell us during the consultation day that more staff are urgently needed, it sets alarm bells ringing for me," appeals Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz to increase the staffing ratio quickly.
"The juvenile penal system is at its limit," warns Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz.