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Refugees and Migrants in Law and Policy pp 647–667Cite as

Refugees and Migrants in German Prisons: Outlining Problems and Solutions

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Abstract

The so-called refugee crisis is, not only in Germany but also in Europe, a very actual issue. Especially after the incidents in Cologne on New Year’s Eve 2015/2016, the debate about criminal refugees and how to deal with them is one of the most discussed topics in Germany. Although the phenomenon of migration is not a new issue, only limited data are available, particularly in the Police Crime Statistics and in the prison statistics. Based on the Police Crime Statistics, correctional statistics, as well as an actual research project, this paper presents some data on non-German offenders and prisoners. Doubtless, an increase in this population is accompanied by more criminality and an increase of prisoners, which the correctional system has to handle. Several problems appear, above all the communication and language problems but also the risk of radicalization and the dealing with traumatization. Most prisons have reacted to these problems, and some selected approaches are presented.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Here: suspects who are asylum seekers, refugees or foreigners with exceptional leave to remain or illegal immigrants.

  2. 2.

    The data of the following table is extracted from the project Muslims in correctional facilities. For more information see Bartsch et al. (2017, 2018).

  3. 3.

    The examples are extracted from the booklet, which was developed by the prison in Karlsruhe. But also other prisons work with similar booklets (e.g. prison Hamburg or juvenile detention Düsseldorf) (Forum Strafvollzug 2017, p. 96f; Poel et al. 2017).

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  1. Criminological Service (Kriminologischer Dienst) Baden-Wuerttemberg, Stuttgart, Germany

    Bernadette Schaffer & Joachim Obergfell-Fuchs

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  1. Bernadette Schaffer
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  2. Joachim Obergfell-Fuchs
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Correspondence to Bernadette Schaffer .

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  1. University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Helmut Kury

  2. Vienna Liaison Office, Academic Council on the United Nations System, Wien, Austria

    Sławomir Redo

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Schaffer, B., Obergfell-Fuchs, J. (2018). Refugees and Migrants in German Prisons: Outlining Problems and Solutions. In: Kury, H., Redo, S. (eds) Refugees and Migrants in Law and Policy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72159-0_28

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