In prisons

Ombudsman Board calls for better suicide prevention

The juvenile detention center in Gerasdorf prison (see picture) will soon move to Simmering.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

The Austrian Ombudsman Board is calling for better suicide prevention in prisons and rapid implementation of existing recommendations. Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz (ÖVP) is also campaigning for prison conditions that comply with human rights and the expansion of electronically monitored house arrest.

The Austrian Ombudsman Board has identified a number of unresolved issues in the prison system. In addition to the expansion of electronically monitored house arrest and prison conditions that comply with human rights - open residential group detention should be the rule for juveniles and young adults - Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz (ÖVP) is calling above all for the rapid implementation of the recommendations drawn up by a working group on suicide prevention.

Suicide is the most common cause of death in prison
The experts' final report has been available since 19 July 2023, but since then "unfortunately nothing has happened" on the part of the Ministry of Justice, Schwarz criticized. Suicide is the number one cause of death in prisons. Here in Germany, too, the figures have recently risen. There were between 46 and 49 suicides and attempted suicides per year between 2021 and 2023. According to the Austrian Ombudsman Board, there have already been eight suicide attempts and one suicide since the beginning of the year.

The inmates in Gerasdorf do not know what will happen to them.

Gaby Schwarz, Volksanwältin

With regard to suicide prevention in the prison system, "there is much more to be done", said Friedrich Alexander Koenig, Director General for the Prison Service and Correctional Services at the Ministry of Justice, on "Ö1 Mittagsjournal". A number of the 48 recommendations have already been implemented. Visitor management has also already been improved.

Relocation of the juvenile detention center
In just a few months, the juvenile penal system will largely move from the Gerasdorf correctional facility, which previously specialized in this area, to a new facility in the federal capital and will be connected to the Vienna-Simmering correctional facility at the Münnichplatz site. "People are supposed to be there in July. This has been communicated extremely late and extremely poorly for all those affected," Schwarz noted. This has led to uncertainty among staff and inmates in Gerasdorf, "who don't know what will happen to them".

Extension of the ankle bracelet regulation
The Austrian Ombudsman Board is also in favor of extending the ankle bracelet regulation, which is currently only intended for sentences to be served or remaining sentences that do not exceed twelve months. The possibility of extending electronically monitored house arrest to sentences of up to 18 or 24 months would "blatantly relieve the burden on prisons", Ombudswoman Schwarz points out. There has been a corresponding proposal since 2019, so why the Ministry of Justice has not taken it up "is beyond me. It would be sensible to get this off the ground quickly". After all, electronically monitored house arrest is "no walk in the park", but a measure that restricts freedom.

If you or someone close to you is in an exceptional psychological situation or is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please contact the telephone counselling service on 142. You can find other crisis hotlines and emergency numbers HERE.