Abolish prisons? - What works better than incarceration

Approximately 58,000 people are currently incarcerated in German prisons. Over half of them reoffend after their release. These statistics raise doubts about the prison system. Is something fundamentally wrong with German prisons?

To understand what prison does to people, journalist Frank Seibert voluntarily goes to jail. For a few hours, a cell door closes behind him. Isolation and the sudden loss of control change everything, he says after his "release".

What good does imprisonment do? Lawyer and former prison governor Thomas Galli says: nothing! He would release 90 per cent of people behind bars on parole. Prison means social exclusion. But it is also expensive, costing the state some €200 per prisoner, per day. In total, this means the system costs taxpayers over €10 million - every single day. Thomas Galli would rather see that money invested in social work and therapy for offenders.

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