Children in detention

Children who are accused of breaking the law should not be killed, tortured, treated cruelly, put in prison forever, or put in prison with adults. Prison should always be the last choice and only for the shortest possible time. Children in prison should have legal help and be able to stay in contact with their family.

But why is it like that? In which countries do these rules apply and in which countries do not or other regulations apply? Who made it clear that children have a right to receive fewer punishment that adults, even when they have committed the same acts? When do these regulations apply? What is it like to live in prison, for example, in America and Germany? What do they have in common and what is different? And what psychological damage is done to young prisoners?

Over a million children and young people worldwide are in jail, mostly for minor or offenses. For example, they have begged for money or committed theft. What you are punished for is regulated very differently from county to country. The form of punishment also differs from one country to another. In a few states, children are even punished with death.

Between 1990 and 2006, young people under the age of 18 were sentenced to death in the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, China and Nigeria for their crimes. In 2006, the United States, Pakistan and China signed into law that juveniles will no longer be sentenced to the death penalty. Nevertheless, this is still not taken into account in Pakistan. In 2014, in Iran, despite the fact that the country also signed the treaty on children rights, this happened in 2019.

In many countries, young people are locked up together with adults. That is often dangerous for them. They do not get enough to eat, because adults steal their food. They get abused, raped, and experience things that are not good for further development. These experiences also cause psychological damage.

The penal system in the USA is much more repressive than in Germany. The penalties are longer, the conditions tougher, and the therapy offers are not in the foreground. In Germany, on the other hand, the prison system is there both to protect the general public from further criminal offenses and to adequately prepare prisoners for a life after imprisonment, with the aim of ensuring more security. In Germany, it is also impressive that they put so much effort into the training and continuing education for prisoners in Lower Saxony.

In specific, it isn’t the case in Germany that children become criminally responsible at the age of 14. From this age onwards, they have to answer in court, if they have committed a crime. For example, stealing, beating someone up or spraying graffiti.

If children and young people have done something that is forbidden, they usually do not end up in prison straight away. First of all, the court tries not to punish, but to take measures so that the young people learn not to commit criminal offenses again. For example, the young people have to attend courses and do anti-violence training. Or they are tasked with doing certain charitable work. For example, cleaning up a playground or helping in a retirement home.

A judge can also decide that the offender must make up for damages done. This can be an apology to the victim or a cash payment. Yong people are only sent to prison for very serious crimes.

“The worst that can happen: that you put a teenager in jail. Because prison does not make young people better, it just makes them worse”, reads a statement from Volkert Ruhe, who has lived in prison since he was 18 years old. Today he is 62 years old. He himself is in prison because of a large sum of money that he could not pay.

His statement is correct in many respects. Because after prisoners have been released from prison, it is difficult for them to create a daily structure, and at the same time they are often not up to the pressure to perform, for example, in school. You feel like a failure. In addition, there is a lack of family and friend support. Because all of these aspects, you fell in a hole. Some also have depression after prison. They also begin with drugs and smoking. These aspects can also lead to a relapse and criminal acts.

Organizations like “Caritas Deutschland” help these criminals. They help because they cannot turn to anyone close to them and have no hope. The organization helps prisoners get back into everyday life.