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Crisis in Saarland: Prisons almost overcrowded – What is being planned now!
The prison situation in Ottweiler is tense: high occupancy rates and plans for a new building with 40 places by 2028.
Crisis in Saarland: Prisons almost overcrowded – What is being planned now!
The prisons in Saarland are facing a critical situation. According to a recent report by the Saarbrücken newspaper At the time of publication on July 26, 2025, 904 of 973 detention places were already occupied, which corresponds to an occupancy rate of around 93%. These figures illustrate the tense conditions in Saarland's prisons, especially given the fact that there were only two fewer places occupied on July 30th.
The Saarland justice ministries have recognized the occupancy situation there as a critical burden and have pointed out the fluctuations in the numbers. In 2023, occupancy was regularly high towards the end of the month, indicating a continued trend. Saarland ranks fifth in Germany in terms of prison occupancy, while the nationwide occupancy rate is 86%, with a total of 60,391 of 70,279 prison places currently occupied.
Comparison to the nationwide situation
Occupancy in Saarland is higher than in many other federal states, including Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Hamburg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The latter has an alarming occupancy rate of 99.5%, as 3,180 of 3,196 places are occupied. This high occupancy rate in Rhineland-Palatinate is partly due to the fact that measures such as multiple occupancy of prison cells and open prison sentences are used to replace prison sentences. However, such measures are not currently planned in Saarland.
Although the law allows prisoners to be temporarily housed together, this was not currently necessary in Saarland prisons. Nevertheless, the authorities are showing progress in voluntary community placement in both closed and open prisons.
Future developments and construction plans
Amid these challenges, the Saarland Ministry of Justice is planning to build a new building with 40 places in the Ottweiler correctional facility (JVA). This measure is intended to help defuse the tense occupancy situation. The construction work is scheduled to be completed by 2028. A Europe-wide procurement process for the planning team has already been successfully carried out and the first preliminary planning is expected in the current quarter. The specific costs for the project will be announced once the planning has been approved.