With the reform of the enforcement of measures, which the governing parties were able to agree on, dealing with mentally ill lawbreakers “finally got into the 21st century,” said Minister of Justice Alma Zadic (Greens) at the end of 2022. The hurdles for a potentially lifelong induction into a forensic therapeutic center were thus significantly increased.
As the Ö1 morning journal reported on Wednesday, dozens of people who were detained in forced custody will have to be released in the near future because the criteria for their detention have been removed. Previously, this required an initial offense threatened with imprisonment for more than one year; now, as a rule, an offense threatened with imprisonment for more than three years is required in order to be able to place insane but dangerous offenders against their will in the enforcement of measures.
In the case of juvenile delinquents who are not criminally responsible as a result of a mental illness, a referral is only possible in the case of a capital crime with a penalty of ten years or more. This applies not only to future cases, but also to people who are currently being held and who were under 21 years of age at the time of their admission, i.e. were not adults.
“Put on the street from one day to the next”
“I see big problems coming to us,” Ö1 quoted Viennese criminal law professor Katharina Beclin in this context. “People who were previously in a closed system, where everything was completely taken away from them, are thrown out from one day to the next,” says Beclin. This does not guarantee that those who are dangerous at the time of their admission and who are possibly not cured or who do not accept their illness when they are released will take their medication.
From autumn, when the regulation for young people and young adults comes into force, no conditions can be attached to the release for minor to moderately serious offenses such as physical harm or robbery without violence. This means that there can be no instructions to continue therapy or to go to outpatient treatment.
“There is now a fire on the roof of everyone,” said an expert on Wednesday, who repeatedly examines people who are being held in prison. However, the judiciary is trying to “catch” the forthcoming layoffs insofar as those affected are not left to their own devices, the expert told the APA.
Sociologist criticizes reform
The sociologist Veronika Hofinger from the University of Innsbruck is also of the opinion that the reform of the enforcement of measures had not been thought through to the end: “Until now, you could only be released from the measure to a limited extent, you had a place to live, probation, conditions, you had to take your medication, and here it is completely lost because there is no longer any way to instruct them,” she said in the Ö1 lunchtime journal.
In Vorarlberg there has just been a networking meeting with representatives of aftercare organizations and the health care system. The President of the Feldkirch Regional Court, Angela Prechtl-Marte, said: “There is simply not enough space and money for mentally ill people.” The result is that people would be accommodated in other federal states. This cuts them off from their families and their social network.
Ministry of Justice speaks of around 50 people
According to the Ministry of Justice, the release of nine and subsequently around 50 persons currently in prison who were adolescents or young adults at the time of their admission is due to be released on September 1st. “In order to ensure the best possible health care for those affected even after their release from the implementation of measures, the ministry is in constant contact with the relevant health and social institutions, federal states, lawyers and the families of those affected,” said one of the APA submitted opinion.
In addition, numerous other preparatory measures would be taken: “Such as individual social training and probation assistance, accompanied exits and social network conferences with all the institutions involved.” The ministry also provides financial resources for those affected who, after their release, require further care, for example in a therapeutic community need: “Should the person concerned nevertheless endanger themselves or others after their release, admission to a psychiatric clinic according to the Accommodation Act is possible.”
SPÖ criticizes ministry
SPÖ justice spokeswoman Selma Yildirim called on Minister of Justice Zadic to prepare properly for the transition from the execution of measures to the freedom for detainees: “Even when the federal government made the decision, we warned against only going halfway when it comes to the execution of measures. Apparently, that’s exactly what the Minister of Justice intends to do. This poses an enormous security risk for people who have previously been in dense and structured care for years. With a parliamentary question, I will check whether such concepts exist at all.”
Yildirim called for negotiations with the countries that have jurisdiction over health care to facilitate a meaningful assisted discharge. A “haphazard dissolution” would provoke a security risk for the dismissed and the population and jeopardize the acceptance of the reform of the enforcement of measures.
Hacker calls for talks with the federal government
In the Ö1 midday journal, Vienna’s City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) said that there was basically no problem with the implementation of measures being further developed. However, there is “zero preparation” for this, Hacker continues. He referred to the pressure that psychiatry in Austria is already under, especially child psychiatry. He called for talks with the federal government to discuss the necessary measures – the responsibility does not lie solely with the federal states, this is also an issue for the federal government, according to Hacker.
The Ombudsman Board wants to “closely monitor” the form in which the dismissed persons continue to be cared for, announced Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz (SPÖ) at a press conference on the occasion of the presentation of the Ombudsman Board’s annual report on Wednesday. There is already a major shortage of staff in the aftercare facilities, Ombudsman Gaby Schwarz (ÖVP) also pointed out.
