8. Treatment of drug addicted prisoners

In the Bavarian prisons the drug addicts are accommodated not separately from other prisoners because - following the local experiences - the common accommodation with other prisoners facilitates the treatment of the drug addicts.

On the 31st of March, 2001 1.256 convicted prisoners were in the Bavarian prisons which were condemned exclusively because of criminal offences according to the drug law (this are 15,7% of all convicted prisoners). The real amount of drug addicted or drug-endangered prisoners might be higher.

The treatment of the drug addicts in the prisons applies - according to the local circumstances - to own, to part-time or to contract obliged experts. Special emphasis is put on the co-operation with suitable treatment and counselling institutions beyond the prison service (addiction advice centers, Public Health Offices, free withdrawal treatment institutions). Representatives of these institutions come to the prisons for counselling and for treatment of the prisoners addicted to drugs. Since 1997 the care of addiction-endangered prisoners and of prisoners who are sick from addiction is done by experts from outside the prison service in all Bavarian prisons. For this the State of Bavaria makes available 1.5 Mio. Euro annually. With this money counsellings, which take place on a overall high standard, can be offered in all Bavarian prisons. This counselling is scientifically evaluated by the Munich institute of therapy-research and positively valued.

In the foreground of the treatment of drug addicts first of all stands the physical withdrawal under medical care. In connection to this it is tried to reach also a psychological withdrawal. This first of all happens in individual therapy and group therapy. In addition to that comes, for example, the prompting to a regular employment by an assignment of suitable work or by occupational therapy, the execution of school or vocational measures, the integration into housing groups and to leisure time groups within the prisons as well as the intensification or establishment of strong connections to suitable persons outside of the institution. As far as a psychological withdrawal does not succeed during the imprisonment, it is tried to motivate the prisoner to a treatment after the release; if necessary the admission to a corresponding institution is prepared.