The number of mentally ill offenders in correctional facilities has increased significantly in Bavaria over the past ten years. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, 3,021 people were accommodated there as of January 23, 2023. For comparison: at the end of 2013 there were only 2596 people. The situation was “tense” due to the sharp increase, said a ministry spokeswoman.
Because the current number of accommodated patients significantly exceeds that of the actual places, the so-called blueprint beds, of 2338. However, “in old buildings with large rooms, this does not reliably reflect the number of beds that can be set up and thus occupied,” as a ministry spokeswoman emphasized. The number of people accommodated also included those who already lived outside of the clinics, for example in residential groups.
You cannot simply compare the number of beds with the number of patients. In the coming years, 200 more of these places should be created.
Criminals are put into a psychiatric prison if a court classifies them as having psychiatric problems or being addicted. In the case of longer terms of imprisonment, the imprisonment can be divided: first part is served in prison, then the measure follows. There, a decision is made as to whether the convicted person must continue to serve the remainder of his sentence – or whether he can be released halfway through the sentence.