This information was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, who pointed out that this is the second time this type of situation has occurred this year.
The young thief in question could not present any identity documents but assured the police that he was under 18 years of age.
Because of this, the public prosecutor’s office initially ordered his transfer to the security unit in Dreiborn. However, this was impossible because there was no room in the facility for young offenders.
As placement in the Schrassig prison was not an option, the case was transferred to the youth judge who is handling the case. In the meantime, the young thief has been released.
Since 2017, the closed facility has offered special care for 12 minors as part of the state-run socio-educational centre. Adolescent offenders are placed there for a maximum of three months, a period that can be extended by the judicial authorities.
11 of the 12 places were already full in February, a problematic situation that was reported at the time by the head of youth protection at the public prosecutor’s office, David Lentz, on RTL.
The problem will probably not be solved any time soon, since an expansion of the structure is not allowed by law and is practically impossible to achieve.
For the First Advocate General, Unisec “is too small”. Simone Flammang regrets that the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office are limited because of infrastructure problems.
She explains that the decision taken is not satisfactory and reiterates that from the beginning, the Prosecutor’s Office has insisted that the security unit was not big enough for the country’s needs.
“It is time to act and create, in the medium term, a new and larger structure for juvenile offenders in the philosophy of Unisec”, according to the First Advocate General.
Some minors, whose behaviour has not improved during their stay in Dreiborn, can be transferred to Schrassig under certain conditions, as was the case with a 17-year-old man accused of rape in January 2020.
However, Minister of Justice Sam Tanson stated at the time that she does not believe that a minor should be held in a prison for adults.
