YOUTH DETENTION FACILITIES past few years, renovation work is being considered and relocation has also become an unavoidable option. The facility which the Joint Commission inspected thus only represents a temporary solution. Since the containers are being leased, it is not possible to make any structural changes, such as fitting window blinds. The air conditioning in the male youth detainees’ cells has now been switched to a mode in which fresh air is drawn in at short, regular intervals. In addition, the male detainees are allowed to spend more time outside. There are plans to build a new youth detention facility in Königs Wusterhausen. Discussions are also ongoing about holding detainees from Berlin and Brandenburg together in one facility. During the initial meeting the head of the institution already addressed the issue of the repeated complaints raised about the size of the meal portions. The ministry has already been informed about this. Detainees addressed the issue of insufficient meal portions during their one-to-one meetings with the visiting delegation. According to the head of the institution, the service provider also supplies homes for the elderly and kindergartens. The facility is currently remedying the situation by giving some detainees an additional half portion on doctor’s orders. Those in youth detention should be provided with nutritious and sufficient quantities of food, taking account of their age, health, religion and the activities they engage in. The same requirements are made under the European Rules for juvenile offenders 53 subject to sanctions or measures. The Joint Commission recommends adapting requirements accordingly and increasing the size of the meal portions if necessary. It also suggests examining the nutritional composition of the meals. Response: The youth detention facility is supplied by a local caterer. The contract concluded with this caterer includes the Catering Regulations for Prisons in Brandenburg, which take account of the requirements of a healthy diet and in particular the recommendations of the German Society of Nutrition. They also include stipulations concerning adequate portion sizes. After consulting the doctor, the head of the youth detention facility can also grant additional portions in individual cases if this is necessary to maintain health, for instance. An average of 2,500 kcal per day is currently provided for. The possibility was recently introduced of ordering additional portions, meaning that an average of 2,780 kcal can then be provided. According to the head of the institution, a doctor visits the detention facility once a week to examine detainees after arrival. Depending on when they are admitted, this can mean the examination is not 53 carried out straight away. If, for example, a youth detainee is booked in mid-week, it may take five to six days before he or she is examined by the doctor. The medical examination primarily serves to ensure the detainee stays in good health during the enforcement of detention and to establish whether any treatment is necessary. It is therefore key that this examination is carried out as soon as possible after detainees are admitted, even if the period of youth detention is relatively short. A solution to this problem must be found in order to guarantee that the medical examination is carried out as soon as possible after detainees are admitted, as required under section 17 (1) of the Enforcement of Youth Detention Code. A delay of several days is not acceptable, especially in view of the short duration of youth detention compared to general prison sentences. Response: Detainees should be examined by a doctor as soon as possible after they begin their period in detention. This has been regulated in the current draft of an act on the enforcement of youth detention in Brandenburg. Exceptions are only provided for those in leisure-hour and short-term detention. The head of the youth detention facility wishes to ensure that these examinations can be carried out by a doctor when detainees are admitted, and plans to sign a corresponding contract with local doctors to that end. However, on account of the small number of detainees and the lack of doctors across the Land, negotiations are proving difficult. Involving prison doctors is not an option due to their heavy workload. Detainees are guaranteed health care provision at all times through the public health insurance’s emergency service and the emergency services, although these cannot be drawn on to conduct the initial medical examination. According to the head of the institution, contact with the outside world is heavily restricted. Detainees are allowed to stay in touch with their relatives by letter. However, they are permitted to use the telephone only in special cases (e.g. a death in the family) or after filing an application stating grounds. In the view of the Joint Commission, detainees must at least be guaranteed regular contact with their closest family members, for example parents, spouses and children. The CPT also emphasised this aspect when setting its standards. Accordingly, the CPT has established that: “The guiding principle should be to promote contact with the outside world; (...) The active promotion of such contacts can be especially beneficial for juveniles deprived of their liberty, many of whom may have behaviour problems related to emotional deprivation or a lack of social skills. The CPT also wishes to stress that a juvenile’s contact with the outside world should never be restricted or denied Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)11, No. 68 88