How to handle criminals suffering from mental illness?
The term "Maßregelvollzug" is a formidable German words, encompassing a perplexing blend of prison and psychiatry. This latest "Tatort" series intends to highlight the struggles faced by both patients and staff.
Unassuming and timid, Milan (Bekim Latifi) is a model citizen: well-mannered, seemingly ordinary and painfully shy, he's the epitome of an inconspicuous person. However, unleash 'the dragon' within him and he's a recalcitrant killer, even capable of murdering his own mother. The Black Forest "Tatort" series doesn't offer much background on this, but it does shed light on Milan's current state: he's serving his sentence in a special-needs prison, not the traditional one you might expect.
In "Tatort", as in reality, such a facility is more than just a monstrous mixture of psychiatry and security concerns. While it's designed to protect the general public and maintain a sense of order, its primary objective is the treatment of patients - not just punishment. Currently, there are about 13,000 people in Germany's mental health institutions who share a common trait: they've been described as having diminished criminal responsibility due to their mental issues. As such, they're not merely criminals, but individuals in need of assistance.
The treacherous cycle of overcrowding
As with most utopian ideas, striking the right balance between the public's need for security and personal rights of those who have broken the law is a precarious act. A recent survey by the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN) revealed that nearly a third of the 78 forensic clinics in these facilities are grossly overcrowded. As a result, essential therapies are available to fewer than 40 percent of these institutions, thanks to a lack of funding or trained personnel. Furthermore, additional beds are frequently set up in rooms, forcing therapy and supply rooms to be converted into patient accommodations.
This "overcrowding" issue creates a vicious cycle: lengthy and ineffective treatments occur due to inadequate time for staff to dedicate to their patients. Consequently, inmate detention times stretch indefinitely, causing a backlog that results in a logjam. This situation is particularly concerning as the law doesn't impose a maximum duration for incarceration: prisoners can only be released when it's unequivocally certain they no longer present a threat to society.
So where does this leave Milan? In "Letzter Ausflug Schauinsland", he's typically harmless and yearns to spend all day rounding up freshly-mowed lawns on his tractor. Alas, with the 'dragon' resurfacing more frequently, does this imply he's losing his grip on reality? Identifying the cause would require extensive sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist - a very scarce commodity, it seems.
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Source: www.ntv.de
