The site will serve primarily as a detention center for persons suspected of lighter offenses. In this way the available capacity will be used more efficiently and the pressure on more heavily burdened detainee complexes will be relieved.
The Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) has initiated both the renovation and refurbishment of this detention building. This will make it possible to house pre-trial detainees with a relatively low risk profile separately. This measure is in line with the OM policy of making distinctions even before actual detention: suspects of, for example, traffic offenses stay here, while persons suspected of serious criminal acts remain in traditionally high-security facilities. This prevents lightweights from being exposed to (negative) influences of heavier criminals.
The renovation addresses longstanding complaints about the old facilities: structural overcrowding, poor hygiene and the lack of clear separations between different types of detainees. In accordance with legislation, pretrial detainees actually belong in a House of Detention, while convicts reside in a correctional institution.
The commissioning of this specialized detention center not only creates direct relief at regional police cell houses, but also optimizes the distribution of pretrial detainees across available capacity. This contributes to humane detention conditions and increases operational efficiency. The Prosecutor emphasizes that this reopening is only the first phase of a vast program of renovation and modernization, with security, respect for detention rights and optimal use of space at its core.
