Criminal Justice in Germany

Abstract

This brochure intends to provide a review of the main criminal justice data in Germany. It aims to inform the general public and, for the sake of conciseness, is therefore unable to include every detail or to engage in a discussion of academic literature. The brochure covers all levels of prosecution, sentencing and execution of sentence, from the work of the prosecution and court authorities through to conviction, imprisonment and probation. In order to give an idea of the scale of the problem, the brochure also includes the police crime figures on recorded crime and suspects. At the end some figures from the nationwide reconviction study are described and finally the German figures are contrasted to European data.