Berlin pays 800,000 euros for softer prison lighting

The city of Berlin paid €800,000 for softer lighting at the Tempelhofer Damm detention center. In the future there will be dimmable lamps there, the B.Z. Berlin reported on Friday, citing internal papers.

So far, the light in the cells can only be switched on or off. During a visit in 2017, the "National Agency for the Prevention of Torture" criticized that the light was too bright and the ventilation too loud. "Custody cells must be equipped with dimmable lighting so that, for example, the emergency number can be found without difficulty at night without the light source preventing the person concerned from sleeping," the paper quotes from the report.

Remodeling will lead to restrictions
The "National Agency for the Prevention of Torture" describes itself as an "independent national institution" and has the task of "regularly visiting places of deprivation of liberty, drawing attention to abuses and submitting suggestions for improvement".

The conversion measures over two floors should be completed by mid-November. For this purpose, ceilings are torn open, the previous lamps are removed and new ones are installed. In addition to the construction costs, "not inconsiderable restrictions" and a "not inconsiderable reduction in the usable cell spaces" can be expected, according to an internal estimate.

Source: Junge Freiheit