A different approach to the prison system

A student recounts a recent study abroad trip to Germany, which led students to examine a unique example of a women’s prison in Germany.

Welcoming strangers into your home is one of the most generous things a person can do, but when your home is a social-therapeutic women’s prison, the gesture seems even more meaningful.

In 2017, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, 875,194 criminal defendants had their cases adjudicated. Of the 716,044 convictions at trial, 136,330 were of women. While most inmates are sent to more traditional prisons, a few women are invited to serve the final months of their sentence in specialized facilities that provide individualized mental health treatment from social workers, correctional officers, and psychologists.

During The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law’s study abroad trip to Germany this past summer, we toured one of these facilities located in the Neukölln borough of Berlin. The nondescript concrete building looked impersonal from the street, but once our identities were verified and cell phones confiscated at a security checkpoint, we were ushered into the unusually comfortable prison.

Our guides, Alec and Tino, told us this was a unique experience because the inmates had to give us permission to tour what is essentially their secure apartment complex. The amenities include a communal dining area, art studio, and a lawn and garden. A handful of the 12 women housed in the prison brought linen covered dining tables into the garden with coffee, water, fruit, and other snacks. They did this at the instruction of the prison staff, but with no visible supervision.

In their street clothes, they looked like any other group of Germans: polite, perhaps a bit nervous at the company, but friendly. But the context of the visit never completely slipped my mind. Neukölln is made of a cluster of neighborhoods located along the southeast edge of Berlin. According to Al Jazeera, Neukölln has a 25 percent immigrant population and suffers from 12 percent unemployment—leading some to dismiss the borough as a “crime-ridden ghetto.”

This information created some discomfort when a man started yelling in the street as we waited for the prison warden to begin her lecture. This only amused the prisoners though, and one of them responded with a joke that drew giggles from her cohort. Our professor Mark Saatjian began to translate, but the meaning was clear—these women might be just as dangerous as anything outside the prison walls.

When the lecture began, we learned that group therapy is a cornerstone of the rehabilitation process and the goal is to prepare the women for a socially responsible life without recidivism. To that end, prisoners are asked to share what they did and what the root causes of that behavior are.

This type of therapy requires a lot of trust from a group of women that start the program as strangers. Prisoners usually keep the nature of their crime a closely guarded secret. The prison head made a point to describe how leaks can break down trust in the group sessions. We never learned what the women who attended the lecture with us were convicted of. Our only hint was an offhand comment the warden made that a mother is usually allowed to live with her child if they are under the age of three. That accommodation was temporarily revoked at the Neukölln prison because some of the prisoners were convicted of sexual crimes against children.

That comment was enough to allow suspicion to influence my curiosity of the inmates and I suspect it illustrates why they guard the nature of their crimes so closely.

Despite dark moments, the warden’s lecture highlighted some of the successes that explained why the inmates wanted to let us into their home. One woman admitted this was her second stint in Neukölln prison. She said she was not ready to take responsibility for her crimes or share them with a group but going back to a traditional prison made her appreciate the opportunity for treatment in this type of setting.

Another said her employer offered to hold her job until her release and staff coordinated days where she could leave the prison, unsupervised, to go to work. Others recalled how women who had already finished their sentences came back to the prison to participate in group therapy sessions because they were struggling to adjust to living on the outside.

There were many stories like these, but the common theme was how these women used the resources and a limited amount of freedom to take responsibility for their crimes and change their behavior. The women were quick to point out that not every prison is like the one in Neukölln and they argued that the United States could benefit from investing in a group of people they’d otherwise be quick to write off.

When I look back on the visit, I’m struck by how fitting the town around the prison is. It’s a complex area with a complex prison inside. Neukölln is stricken with crime, but it is also home to hardworking, middle-class families. Likewise, the inmates at the prison have criminal pasts, but also have a desire to change their patterns of behavior and become productive members of society. The prison’s compassionate and independent approach to inmate rehabilitation is a program that works on all aspects of the person—mentally and socially—to help them successfully transition to live in the community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Gonzalez is a 3L at the Santa Barbara campus and a reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press.

Learn more

If you would like to learn about The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law, fill out the form below to request more information. Or you can apply today through our application portal.