Chaos in the new youth prison: Gaby Schwarz raises the alarm!

Chaos in the new youth prison: Gaby Schwarz raises the alarm!

Münnichplatz, Wien, Österreich - The situation in the new youth criminal Central Münnichplatz in Vienna-Simmering ensures considerable concern. People's lawyer Gaby Schwarz criticizes the predicament that the first group of young people meets there. In her current statement, she describes the relocation as a "logistical belly stain" of the Ministry of Justice. This criticism is no coincidence, because the operation of the new location was announced in January 2025, but the circumstances are anything but satisfactory. At the moment there are 21 young people in Münnichplatz, while some of them have to be brought to the school for school every day.

Currently only one of three departments in Münnichplatz can be used, since the other two are not ready for use due to necessary renovation work. The young people who are currently instructed to the institution are not only dependent on the provisional conditions, but also have limited access to needs that must continue to be procured by the Josefstadt judiciary. The practices to participate in school and educational offers that are decisive for resocialization are severely impaired by the structural defects.

criticism of ministerial policy

Gaby Schwarz expresses that the Ministry of Justice did not do its homework. The renovation work and the provision of the necessary staff should have been completed before the relocation. She appeals to the new Minister of Justice Anna Sporrer to prioritize the urgently needed improvements in the intolts. Since 2022, the public prosecutor has been calling for a new youth criminal investment due to the unsustainable conditions in the existing institutions. The conditions are particularly dramatic, as an incident shows, in which a 16-year-old with nine adults was housed in a cell, which illustrates the problem of overcrowding and inadequate separation of the occupants.

A total of between 110 and 135 young people are currently housed in Austrian judicial centers, with Schwarz criticized that many of the young people are enclosed up to 23 hours a day in their detention rooms, which is legally prohibited. The surveillance is problematic due to a lack of personnel; Out of 84 required servants, 80 are missing, which indicates inadequate payment and burden on the existing staff.

focus on re -socialization

The Austrian judiciary has set itself the goal of promoting human rights and the re -socialization of the detainees, but the current circumstances are counteracting. The Ministry defines the goal of prison as the individual care and the creation of a structured daily routine to help the occupants in reintegration. Education and employment are essential components, but they are severely restricted in the current situation. The framework conditions would have to improve significantly in order to meet the needs of young people and to facilitate their return to society.

Schwarz warns that without drastic measures, the re -socialization of young criminal is at risk and hopes for quick measures from the new Minister of Justice to initiate the necessary changes in youth penalty. The appeal to support the prosecutor and the exchange of experience reports is another step in the desired direction.

The situation in Münnichplatz is symptomatic of the challenges in front of which the Austrian juvenile criminalization faces, and urgently requires attention and act from those responsible.

Further information on this topic can be found in the reports from krone and bmj .