Transferring offenders from preventive detention to psychiatric hospitals

Start of project: 4/2017

Description

In section 67 a II, the German Penal Code offers  the possibility to transfer prisoners and detainees from prisons and post-sentence preventive detention units to forensic psychiatric hospitals, provided these hospitals offer more adequate treatment. This transfer has been made more inclusive by recent legislation.

Although there are hints suggesting this transfer possibility is used more frequently by the criminal justice system, no systematic research exists. This project will collect more fundamental information on how often this possibility is used, which offenders it is used for, and how this practice is viewed by those involved. The project completes the institute´s research efforts in the field of preventive detention.

Methods

Court files of transfer cases and qualitative interviews.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Axel Dessecker
Katrin Schäfer