"I have been saying for years that the care of mentally ill inmates is often not possible to the extent required due to the virulent shortage of staff. The number of inmates with mental illnesses is increasing. That is why we are currently working on an audit focus on this topic," says the Ombudsperson, referring to the results in the course of the first quarter of 2026. Christoph Koss, Managing Director of the probation service "Neustart", also emphasises that prisons are the wrong place for prisoners who need psychiatric care.
For Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz, it is "completely incomprehensible" that concrete beds can still be found in a third of the specially secured detention rooms. "We have been warning about these sources of danger for years. In 2023, we even explicitly drew the attention of the former Minister of Justice to the concrete bed in Hirtenberg prison, where the prisoner injured himself according to media reports. I expect all concrete beds to be removed immediately."
"Prisoners with serious mental illnesses need appropriate care," Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz.