Custodial Practice
At the end of December 2013, 144 offenders in Switzerland were held in mostly closed penal institutions. According to a report published by the Federal Council on Wednesday on the practice of detention in Switzerland, incidents in connection with the release of offenders from custody are rare.
The Report was prepared on the basis of the postulate "Report on detention practice in Switzerland" (13.3978) and is primarily intended to show the development of detention practice since 2007 and the number of detainees and therapies broken down by year and canton. The report is limited to a presentation of the data collected. Most of the persons in custody (112) were in closed penal institutions or measure facilities at the end of 2013. More than 97 percent of all persons in custody were men; the proportion of foreigners was about one-quarter. Execution openings with a view to possible resocialization were most frequently granted in the period from 2007 to 2013 as escorted exits (459), which usually lasted only a few hours. In contrast, unaccompanied exits (11), furloughs (7), or placement in a work or residential externat (4 and 5, respectively) were granted only occasionally. There were four incidents of escapes or assaults against prisoners, therapists or other persons in connection with detentions.
Transition from the old to the new law
At the end of December 2006, 229 offenders were held in custody under the old law. With the entry into force of the new sanctions law on January 1, 2007, the two previous forms of custody - custody of habitual offenders (Art. 42 aStGB) and of offenders with a mental disorder (Art. 43 No. 1 aStGB) - were replaced by a single form of custody (Art. 64 StGB). Under the old law, dangerous offenders with a mental disorder could be kept in custody regardless of whether they were treatable or not. Under the new law, however, a dangerous offender with a mental disorder may only be detained if therapy is unsuccessful. Therefore, starting in 2007, all custody cases were reviewed and either continued as custody under the new law or converted into a therapeutic measure. As part of this review, a total of 19 persons were also released from custody; of these, 5 were convicted of a new offense. Of the total of 25 offenders held in custody under the new law, none has yet been released.
Not specifically for dangerous offenders
Therapeutic measures are not specifically aimed at dangerous offenders. However, they can be carried out in a closed facility if this is necessary for security reasons. As of September 1, 2014, a total of 904 persons were subject to a therapeutic measure: 65 were at liberty, 224 were placed in psychiatric hospitals, and 615 were placed in various correctional facilities; of these, 216 were in a closed facility. In the period from 2007 to 2013, 118 persons were released from the measure prison; of these, 27 recidivated and were re-sentenced.
Designed as a last possible resort
Custody is conceived as a last possible resort when other sanctions have failed or do not promise success. Together with the custodial sentence and inpatient therapeutic measures, it forms a system of sanctions that are closely interrelated. Sanctions such as life imprisonment or treatment of a mental disorder in a closed penal institution can be just as drastic for the offender concerned and take society's need for security into account as custody.
Press release Federal Department of Justice and Police
