Lockup in Germany - A Town Behind Bars | Full Prison Documentary

[Music] this is a town within a prison village jail is more than just a prison it's an isolated world behind walls bars and barbed wire housing 750 male inmates whatever you want got to take it yourself you get nothing for free the highest security is in force here around the clock the staff have to be prepared for everything and know how to help themselves in an emergency if there's an attack self-defence is required and then I've got to react prison work is hard and for peanuts but for many it's the chance to prepare themselves for a new life on the outside first yearned a bit of money to live on it helps take your mind off things no question definitely gives you something the balance between education and punishment juvenile prisons are often where the future course is set is this where criminal careers end or where they really start to lose course the drugs played their part I was always aggressive prison doctors on duty non-stop open tuberculosis hepatitis or high blood pressure an entire clinic exclusively for prison inmates they can move around freely here in the corridor and are not seen in public with handcuffs on wit leash in Rheinland fights every Thursday this bus arrives at the Correctional Facility on board are the inmates from other prisons who have now been transferred here or prisoners returning from a court appearance he has at least 15 months imprisonment ahead of him village prison is part of a giant complex covering a total area the size of 25 football pitches besides the men's jail there's another penal facility here the juvenile prison with around 150 male inmates one of the oldest young offenders institutions in Europe there's also an entire Hospital exclusively for the prisoners numerous working and vocational training facilities and even a school for prospective prison officers an isolated world of incarceration morning 6:00 a.m. on wing 4 of the men's prison the day begins with unlocking what's known here as the living check a quick look into the detention rooms as cells are called today so the officers can make sure the prisoners are safe and well to show more force society is no it does happen though not very often that someone commits suicide and you're never prepared for that your honor the inmates here are made up of men serving sentences of up to eight years one of the Prison veterans here is Schorsch the 58 year old has spent more than half his life locked up in various jails so first I'll have a cup of coffee and then I'll watch the news one of the few comforts of prison life is being allowed to make your own coffee or tea in your detention room that is assuming you have some [Music] by pushing a button the inmates can show that they need hot water this is always brought around half an hour after wake up by an inmate under the supervision of a prison officer as soon as an officer unlocks the detention room it's indicated here and in the wing office so all other officers know where their colleague currently is a precautionary measure see you later okay all right [Music] the size of the detention rooms is just ten square meters not much space for furniture or belongings you can see under here you can see everything's empty and there's the cupboard where you can keep your personal things tobacco coffee games dishes plates and that's all you've got isn't it and here's the toilet at least it's behind its own door and here you can do a few exercises I do my push-ups here like this put my hands on the mattress like this then I go down sets of 10 or 20 depending on how I feel like all other inmates he simply has to make the most of his situation and come to terms with the cramped conditions the prison building is divided up into several wings three officers are responsible for each one a wing consists of three corridors and a total of 80 detention rooms which are supervised from a central wing office the officers take care of lock up and unlocking checks and lots of other security relevant matters that includes assembling the prisoners to move them out to their workplaces morning for Matias it's also time to go to work like many of his fellow inmates it's not his first time in prison his workplace is in a different building in the prison complex he and his thirty colleagues work in the prison laundry before each shift the officers make sure that no inmates have smuggled anything in then they all go to get changed they do all the laundry for all the prisons in Rhineland files as well as for hospitals and other external companies and institutions 20 to 30 inmates work each shift watched over by two guards by working here the inmates can also earn money and will get around 220 euros at the end of the month just sitting in the cell brooding I did that for a few years and this is definitely better first of all you can earn some money and it takes your mind off things for me it's really important that my family doesn't have to send me any money the inmates are only allowed to spend about half of what they earn to buy food or cigarettes the rest goes into an account that's managed by the prison while serving their term inmates themselves are only allowed to make withdrawals after an application to do so has been approved the laundry bosses are members of the prison staff they have to make sure the work is of the right quality and that all security standards are maintained with deliveries coming and going on a daily basis there's also a great temptation to smuggle things in or out inmates could easily try to hide under these mountains of laundry in an attempt to escape there's always that risk but we check every time to make sure they're all still there so basically no laundry goes out until we've made sure that all the inmates are still present all those bringing or collecting laundry are also checked thoroughly the prison also has its own bakery here the inmates bake the bread for all the detention centers in rheinland-pfalz those working here are normally beginners who are trained and supervised by two master bakers anyone needing a knife for their work has to sign for it [Music] dyzma this knife is classified as a dangerous tool here so he has to sign to confirm he's taken it we know where the knife is and who's got it and we counter sign when he brings it back at the end of the day lots of things the inmates use here would make good weapons the supervisors however are always unarmed that's what the security regulations stipulate that's why in the bakery only trustworthy inmates are allowed to work with knives if they need help quickly the staff used their personal emergency devices or PD for short every officer carries such a device on them at all times that's the PE d and that's the alarm cord if it's pulled off it sets the alarm law or up here the red button that's a pressure alarm then there's the position alarm if the thing lies on its side for five seconds it triggers the alarm you've always got to be in an upright position if you're lying down somewhere you can't press the button the alarm goes off automatically to be allowed to work in prison each inmate first has to apply to the prison governor who will then check the prisoners file if the applicant is classified as fit for work the next step is to check which tasks they could be suited to and where workers are needed this inmate has been working here for a few months like many others he's happy that this job is preparing him for life outside prison walls [Music] there's a normal work structure here just like there is outside and it definitely gives you something work is not compulsory in the modern prison system all those who do work do so voluntarily in the adjacent administration building the prison management convenes every day they plan all the important tasks and try to find solutions to problems today they're discussing how to accommodate inmates from another prison on short notice even though there isn't actually any room but that means of course that because we're already exceeding capacity by five in our current situation we'll be over the limit by fifteen inmates on the weekend in such cases cells have to be shared which often leads to trouble to keep things under control within the prison walls the management needs to be very sensitive we're dealing with people here with plenty of time to think of ways to take advantage of the system we bring in a room and are basically already thinking how will they try to get around us and that makes it interesting because every day there's a new challenge and our job is trying to solve small or even larger problems all day long back to Section four Schorsch doesn't do prison work but spends the day in his cell he has a total of 32 years in prison behind him burglary theft assault receiving stolen goods and pimping outside it was always a life in the fast lane but each time the journey always ended behind bars yes sometimes in sometimes out two three years five years four years it all adds up gradually so that you don't really notice the time passing doesn't the last time Schorsch was out he got married but then he started drinking heavily and his wife left him he then committed a robbery and ended up back in prison I just lost my grip on life when I was with my wife I had everything then we split up and I drifted back into the old circles with drugs and all the rest of it and so I have to say that prison has more or less saved my life in prison he's off the booze and safe from himself he passes the time reading and more recently writing to there are a few impressions I've written down here worldly wisdoms if you like acceptance is the key accept your life accept what you've got and make the best of it live so that you're happy that's all that matters you've got to keep your mind occupied and be convinced of what you say and do definitely but so save us the socks in truth the days in prison are long and lonely but at least he's now in contact with his wife again she comes to visit every six weeks the complex also includes a juvenile prison with 150 inmates it dates back to the kaisers reign and is one of the oldest juvenile detention centers in Europe yeah I'm coming just a minimus the average age of the inmates here is 18 and in contrast to the adult prison they are accommodated in seven living groups each group is looked after by an educator and very often they're women in the afternoon the inmates in living group one are allowed out of their detention rooms for four hours to spend some free time together in the cell wing this also includes cooking together anyone who needs a knife has to sign for it and return it here later the inmates are of different nationalities men them have a drug problem and are in the center for drug-related offenses mainly assault drunk and disorderly drunk driving and drugs offenses doing without alcohol and drugs integrating and engaging with each other is something many inmates first have to learn I've calmed down a bit I think before I do something now it's definitely helped I'm different than I used to be of course the drugs played their part I was always aggressive and things like that each young offender has an integration plan it stipulates measures such as social training or anti violence courses this is to help the young men adhere to rules and not to reoffended now I guess dealing with frustration better or if you've had a drug problem learning about the problems of relapsing and finding out the reasons why things got so bad living together in the group can create problems when conflicts arise the mood can change dramatically as old behavioral patterns come forth again oh [Music] we don't really talk things through but rather in most cases it ends up in a fight really I think what happened yesterday might be a good example of this we could mention that as one such case remember when it all kicked off even if inmate care is more intensive here than in the adult facility it's still prison there's no self-determination for the one hundred and fifty juvenile inmates when it comes to their daily routine yard time is limited and always takes place under permanent supervision this group or newcomers who haven't been in the detention center long they have their own yard times before they are put together with the other inmates they first come into a reception center where they go through a kind of integration program these newcomers are accommodated in a separate section of the men's prison building here their instructors will teach them a regular daily routine something many of them never knew in their old environment demise can can for most of them a third a structured by their smart phones and TVs only time you can often see that they are only interested in the TV we try to counter that as far as we can with group activities and sports and also by having meals together just to give them some kind of structure mobile phones are banned in the entire prison for many getting up or eating at regular times and keeping themselves occupied is hard in the first four weeks they learn to come to terms with the prison routine in their own groups they're protected from the influence of other inmates who often have their very own methods of integrating newcomers here they check out exactly where each of them stands they know what you can take away from whom or who can be used for what the underage inmates easily fall into traps in which they then get stuck and that's also something we have to try to counteract here too one of the biggest problems is drugs English shoots has been in the Prison Service for twenty years and is one of the most experienced officers for her checking every letter to the inmates for drugs or money is simply routine don't move hard if they look and see what's in there if it's obviously photographic paper it's very unlikely that it's been soaked in drugs accomplices often try to smuggle synthetic drugs into the prison by soaking them into writing paper but this letter is clean and can be passed on to the recipient during the day lots of cells are empty this is because the young men go to work in one of the workshops that companies have set up on the prison site this one is a do-it-yourself store where the young men package screws and hooks a job which pays the underage inmates 12 euros a day those over 18 can earn up to 30 euros a day [Music] this paid work is to provide the inmates daily routine with a structure and give them a sense of achievement but despite all the efforts and activities the risk of becoming a repeat offender after release is still very high very few actually managed to break out of the spiral of crime but for the governor they still represent a success if you have ten inmates and your work can contribute to three or four of them having a better start when they get out then we've done a good job the inmates are only detained here for one and a half two or at the most three years and in that time we can't compensate for what hasn't been done in all the years before or for what might not go well in the time afterwards back to the men's prison the inmates are also responsible for cooking the midday meal for kitchen service they can earn up to 240 euros a month the food itself on the other hand has to cost as little as possible the budget per inmate is around three euros a day for all meals providing a balanced diet on this budget would normally be nearly impossible the food is first precooked then portioned and cooled down again on these serving trolleys it's then delivered to the prison three days later where it's warmed up the job of distributing meals is taken on by inmates this man has been doing the job for three months and if the other prisoners don't like the food he's the one who gets to hear the complaints say it tastes good some say it doesn't just depends depends on what they get lots of them say it's always the same a bit repetitive but I always say hey little prison not a hotel most prisons in Germany don't have a canteen the inmates have to eat on their own in their detention rooms good food is important for the atmosphere in prison as inmate Matias knows from experience I've been around a few years and have been in a couple of prisons the food makes a big difference if the food's no good especially when you're working I've often felt like throwing the stuff out of the door but compared to other prisons this place has some of the best food I've eaten Jones after lunch inmate Schorsch has an appointment the wing supervisor wants to speak to him Schorsch is one and a half years into a three-year sentence but it seems his time in prison is about to be extended for a few more years sir have a seat [Music] yeah cozy and I see that you still have cases pending including a case of theft that's not okay his remaining sentence of one and a half years will probably end up being four or five years depending on the judges verdict Shaw has long resigned himself to his fate a few months more or less doesn't matter to him anymore but here the most difficult thing in prison is coming to terms with yourself just with yourself the biggest problem is when you can't change old habits and attitudes the wing supervisor helps inmates like Schorsch with their correspondence to lawyers and the courts and takes care that appointments and deadlines are met but anyone in her wing who doesn't stick to the rules can expect sanctions whether it's a physical confrontation or obtaining something by fraud that they're not allowed to do or have it's up to me to discipline them the toughest disciplinary measure is solitary confinement Shosh however hardly causes any trouble in prison his problems begin once he's outside again that's where he has difficulty obeying the law that's what your childhood taught you and you had to fight your corner again and again whatever you want you've got to take it yourself you get nothing for free and so you're in and out all the time in adult detention every inmate is entitled to 90 minutes yard time a day those who work usually go out in the evenings the rest go in the morning besides the regular yard times there are also recreation activities such as ball games or even cycling in a supervised sports hall when inmates are out in the yard there are usually two officers on duty when they're outside and make sure they don't get into arguments or start fighting or brawling that they don't pick up things that are thrown into the yard by the other inmates and the detention rooms give an automobile in prison to the most popular sport is football the prison teams training sessions are even broadcast live on TV but only for the prison officers the entire site is permanently under observation at night infrared cameras also monitor everything that happens in the complex from time to time prison officer Andrea Slovak also checks the incoming Post every letter arriving at the prison has to be checked the officers are on the lookout for psychoactive substances like LSD or ecstasy they are dripped on the paper or stamps in liquid form and consumed by the inmates you hold it up to the light to see if you notice anything you might see a stain or something and then we can look at it under the UV light so we can say okay there's something there and then it's checked and if necessary we send it into the lab for the final security measures also include unannounced spot checks excuse me sir we have to carry out a room search can you come outside come to the car calls have you got anything on you the inmate has to leave the detention room during the check okay okay let's just go into the group room inmate Marcus is accommodated in a special drug abstinence section because he was convicted of drug possession he's under special observation well it doesn't feel good but I'm in prison it's part and parcel so I just put up with it at some point every inmate has to every day on each wing one detention room or other is taken apart completely the officers are not just looking for drugs but anything that's not allowed in the cells something could be stuck on top of here and hidden medication drugs perhaps a knife piece of metal anything over the course of his career prison officer anti-islamic has gotten to know all the hiding places and knows exactly where to look popular hiding places are ballpoint pens for example so we check them more carefully and take them apart there are maybe come we found medications in there that people have actually been collecting so that's why we have to check these things very thoroughly the searches take place unannounced on this wing there are a lot of inmates with during problems which explains why the cells here are checked more often than on other wings it's quite a regular you never can't tell sometimes they come once a week sometimes twice when people have something about drugs and their files they check a bit more often they even take urine samples if that happens quite a lot drugs or mobile phones can be hidden inside electrical appliances too for this reason the prison management has all devices registered and secured the things in here that's why they have these seals here so that the devices can't be unscrewed here for example there's a USB connection but USB devices are not allowed here so that's why they're sealed and closed after larger drug finds police dog units are sometimes brought in to help clean up the prison stashes of drugs and medications have been found almost everywhere even in refrigerator seals or behind ventilator panels that's why lots of potential hiding places are sealed even the zippers on bedding and mattresses nevertheless inmates still find ways of smuggling drugs in and hiding them some even use the detention room accessories to trade with that's why all objects are catalogued they exchange things amongst each other more or less buy them we've got to take care to record these things they are all registered with a number you can match them to we've got a computer over there so we can look up who is actually the owner of what and it sometimes happens that when they're released some things go missing you know I don't know what the Warsaw this cell is clean but despite the intensive searches and controls a drug-free prison remains a utopian idea in Omaha in a progressive prison regime there's simply no way to prevent drugs coming in the question of how drugs come in is often raised but the real question is how can we stop them coming in and we never will because there are just too many ways the history of English prison goes back to 1902 it was built as a dual institution and consisted of the royal prison for men and the royal prison for women after the Second World War convicted Nazi war criminals were held here later it became an ordinary prison for male offenders typical for that time the prison building is designed as a panopticon with all wings meeting at a central point the old building was only closed down in 2010 and replaced by a new one Stefan kissed worked in the old building right to the end compared to these cells the current detention rooms are pure luxury if the prison was overcrowded two inmates had to share one cell I'd always liked the problems the two inmates just got on each other's nerves and we had to take them out again we tried to find constellations where one was working while the other wasn't so they wouldn't be spending 24 hours a day in the cell together and talked fumes lungs excuses on violin often often there was no electricity in the cells sockets were only installed in 2001 up to that point batteries had been used as the inmates own currency prisoners had to wash in groups in these shower units there were fixed times 3 to 5 times a week for 10 minutes in 1974 RAF terrorists hoga mines was held in custody here later he went on a hunger strike for 58 days until he eventually died this was his cell [Music] the muscle food it was of course very cramped and the hygienic conditions left a lot to be desired the volunteer monthly phone from other phones meanwhile most of the fittings and furniture from the old prison have been disposed of refusal here you can still see a rail from the bed they were bolted into place and couldn't be moved around the old building will be renovated soon and will then be put back into use the plan is to extend the juvenile prison in the new prison building the men are given time and opportunity every day for thorough personal hygiene right I'm ready as one of the older inmates Schorsch has the privilege of being able to shower alone all the others shower in groups those who do prison work usually go in the evenings the rest do so in the mornings you don't need to stand under it for a half an hour when you can have a shower every day once in jail always in jail there are many inmates like Shore because outside it's difficult for them to find a job as an ex-convict so they get drawn back into the criminal scene departing cars yeah getting in with a bad crowd it's something you hear again and again and then it's are the law of the streets those are the things you hear all the time all right finished yeah let's go then the Correctional Complex in village also has a hospital the patients are exclusively inmates who come from prisons in Vineland files and Saarland both inpatient and outpatient treatment is provided doctors can perform all examinations and interventions up to and including operations dr. Heuser and his team are doing their rounds this patient is suffering from high blood pressure how do you feel the usual problems the patient is not fit for detention so he will have to remain in the hospital until his blood pressure has normalized though inmates don't have a free choice of doctor it's much more relaxed for them here than in a normal hospital they can move around here freely in the corridor and don't have to be handcuffed in public they have a bed they can be treated examined and can move around freely only when they look out the windows and they see the walls are they reminded that they're in prison another difference is that not only doctors and caretakers are present during treatment if an inmate suddenly turns violent everyone's prepared the training I've undergone puts me in the position to intervene and actively use my self-defense training to protect people the combination of caretakers and security staff is set specifically for each individual prisoner whether an award or the operating room doors in a prison hospital can only be opened from the outside lots of older inmates are treated here many can never return to the prison the prison hospital is also a hospice for the dying as the senior prison doctor for internal medicine dr. Xhosa also treats inmates from vit leash as outpatients a third of his patients are addicted to drugs among them are also many who have contracted hepatitis C or other infectious diseases including HIV in cases of tuberculosis to prevent infections from spreading addicts are given replacement drugs such as methadone under supervision right next door to the prison complex there's a training college for prospective prison officers here the students are trained in how to deal with prisoners additionally they are also trained in psychology they need to learn how to develop an understanding for the situation and needs of prisoners without getting too close to them because the highest priority and prison service is the safety of the officers and of the general public it's not easy we try to teach future officers how to act professionally so that they know they have to provide security but without forgetting the human element realistic scenarios are simulated in role-playing here inmates in one of the prison recreation rooms suddenly start smoking you know that smoking isn't allowed in here I have to ask you to put your cigarette out the rules in the recreation rooms are clear but the inmates are simply ignoring them and they're in the majority the officer has to keep a cool head I'm asking you now for the last time would you please put your cigarettes out a critical situation that can easily escalate quickly in reality if the officer doesn't remain calm and collected what I need a backup in the recreation room in role-playing the student can defuse the situation by remaining calm and calling for backup the troublemakers are then in the minority and have to leave the recreation room afterwards time for reflection knocking the inmates cigarette out of his hand or something like that would have helped at all it would have only made the situation worse there's also tactical analysis from experienced Prison Service professionals oddish Kondo I can only advise you to do what hair folks did and stay calm don't let the inmates provoke you I then call for backup in good time they side-effect alkali bite so often but sometimes the right words and psychological skills are not enough that's why a two-year self-defense course is also part of their training since the officers are not allowed to be armed they have to keep attackers at bay in other ways so he's going to give me a bear hug and I've got to try and get out of it it's very important to tense up your body and give a shop in this case here in the stomach region try to get out of it get the test person onto the ground and then carry on with your colleague Stephan Sean teaches martial arts grip techniques from jiu-jitsu the aim is for the students to recognize a dangerous situation and be prepared for a possible attack the top priority is self-preservation [Music] invest solution to a conflict is to avoid the whole thing call for backup and sort things out in a civilized manner of course if I'm attacked self-defence is required and I have to react then you have to get your opponent down to the ground secure them call for a colleague and assistance and then you can negotiate back in the juvenile prison during their detention the young men have the opportunity to gain some vocational qualifications assuming they're here long enough then they can even do an apprenticeship in one of the prison zone workshops one of the apprentices is Abdul he comes from Morocco and his training to be a metal technician miscellanea I'm learning here I have to learn everyday how to do welding how to do grinding polishing and drilling balloon there are a lot of things I have to learn again he and the other apprentices will later have the opportunity to look for a job in an open prison the juvenile prison helps but not many are actually successful while the young men are working prison officer Inga shoots has time for her inspection rounds every day she checks every detention room on her wing she's looking for drug stashes the prison rules state that all areas must be clearly visible at all times so here I can see that something doesn't comply with the rules I have to draw the young man's attention to that even a piece of cloth is seen as a visibility strain and must be removed the officer does turn a blind eye to some minor rule breaches she won't be made a fool of by anyone or anything [Music] really unlucky now the water will start to run but fortunately that's never happened to me yet after 20 years on the job she's managed to find just about every possible hiding place you don't necessarily want to mention everything in public but there have been things underneath the wash besson but I can see them when I use my mirror of course as with the adults the juveniles detention rooms can't be kept completely free of drugs for many their addiction goes to prison with them withdrawal symptoms or depression can result in normal group detention being rendered impossible then the juveniles temporarily have to be put in here in the so-called observation cell all the furnitures bolted into place and has no sharp edges [Music] there are no ways to commit suicide here this hook for instance you can't hang yourself on that in here you get a towel but we do try our best to prevent people from taking their own lives because in most cases it's a reaction to a crisis and eventually they're grateful that we didn't give them the opportunity to do it when the room is occupied it's monitored closely at night a very dim light is kept on in extreme cases it's 24 hour total observation after work many of the juveniles have their yard time the youngest inmate here is just 15 years old the oldest is 23 English woods has to count and report all of her inmates that want to go out for 1525 from 1541 9 from house 1 before Inga Schwartz joined the Prison Service 20 years ago she worked in a kindergarten working with young people is something she enjoys doing even here in prison there is a certain familiarity you have to remain professional you can't let yourself get too personally involved in their stories but you need some kind of relationship otherwise you can't educate them so to some extent yes they are my boys her boys yard time is exactly 60 minutes then they go back to their detention rooms for Abdul the apprentice metal technician it's now lockup time he passes the time revising for his final exam the 19 year old is serving a sentence for robbery and physical assault he's been living in Germany since 2011 [Music] kameena am alone in germany no family nobody his defense lawyer is practically his only personal contact Abdul has a real Odyssey behind him at the age of 10 he ran away from home hid in a mail van and took a ferry to Spain later he made it to France where he lived on the streets or in refugee homes and his money came from petty crimes in Germany this is his second time behind bars but all that is going to change so we I was I've been given a chance here and I have to finish my training so I could start a new life even so on phone when he gets out in a few months he's determined to make it out of the spiral of crime and into a new life outside the prison walls [Music]

Channel: WELT Documentary

Views: 1,375,246

Rating: 4.7563119 out of 5

Keywords: full documentary, full documentaries, hd documentary, hd documentaries, free documentary, welt documentary, welt documentaries, full length documentaries, documentary film, top documentaries, reports, factual film, behind bars, prison, german prison, german prison system, german jail, behind bars germany, jva wittlich, prison documentary, lockup, lockup raw, hard time, hard times, wittlich prison, german prison documentary, behind bars german

Id: wrMcpFicK4c

Length: 43min 13sec (2593 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 15 2020