Centre for Correctional Measures Uitikon

Teaser Massnahmenzentrum Uitikon

The Centre for Correctional Measures Uitikon offers various forms of corrections, all focusing on personal development, vocational training and offence work. Here, you can find out everything about the MZU – from visiting hours to vocational training opportunities.

Table of contents

About us

The Centre for Correctional Measures Uitikon (Massnahmenzentrum Uitikon, MZU) is the corrections institution for young male offenders and young adult offenders aged 16 to 25. The MZU has 64 places, 30 of which in the closed, and 34 in the open custody.

The MZU executes the following legal titles:

  • Measures for young adults (art. 61 of the Swiss Penal Code)
  • Protective measures for youths (art. 15 paragraph 2 and art. 15 paragraph 1 in connection with art. 16 paragraph 3 of the Juvenile Criminal Law Act)
  • Prison sentences from six months on upwards for youths (art. 25 paragraph 2 Juvenile Criminal Law Act)
     

Mission

The concept of ROTA, short for »Risikoorientierte Täterarbeit” (risk-oriented work with offenders) is the core action-guiding model of all MZU sections. The goal of the offender- and crime work is the significant reduction of the probability of relapse, and thus efficient crime prevention and effective victim protection. Young offenders admitted to the MZU should afterwards be able to lead their lives as autonomously and legally as possible and to take on responsibility for all aspects of their lifestyle.

Besides various practice and learning options in both the practical and the personal fields, the MZU offers the possibility of a qualified vocational education. A total of 64 places, therapy options, an internal vocational school and training companies are available for this purpose. In addition, there is pastoral care.

Visits

Every young offender is allowed two visits per week. Maximum allowance per visit is three adults plus two children (up to age 12).

Visitation permit and registration for Closed Custody

Young offenders must request visits by written application.
Further visitor information regarding Closed Custody can be found here (in German):

Visiting hours Closed Custody  

Wednesday:
1.40 pm to 4.40 pm (1 hour maximum)

Saturday and Sunday:
12.10 pm to 6.30 pm (2 hours maximum)

Visitation permit and registration Open Custody

Young offenders must request visits by written application. Please find the forms below (in German):

Visiting hours Open Custody

Living units E, F, and G

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday:     
6.30 pm to 9.30 pm

Weekends and public holidays:
12.30 pm to 5.30 pm

Visitation permit and registration living unit Discharge

Young offenders must request visits by written application. Please find the forms below (in German):

Visiting hours living unit Discharge

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday:
6.30 pm to 10 pm

Weekends and public holidays:
10 am to 10 pm

Living areas

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The closed custody setting has three living units with ten places each. Normally, a young offender starts out his measures in closed custody. Every committed person has his own room with a toilet and wash basin. The room can be locked from the outside and cannot be entered by other inmates if closed from inside.

The first three months are used for socio-pedagogical, school-professional and therapeutic clarifications in order to plan the further course of measures with the young offender. During these first months, young offenders are not granted any relaxing of the execution of a sentence. His legal and financial situation is documented, and first steps of integration may be introduced.

After having passed this stage successfully, young offenders are granted certain relaxations of regulations such as supervised day releases or trial apprenticeship weeks at the training workplaces. If the youth or young adult continues to prove himself, he is admitted to the preparatory phase for transfer to the open custody.

Together with the living unit Discharge, the Open Custody has 34 places. After transferring to Open Custody, young offenders have decided on a profession and signed an employment contract. They take part in a training program for crime prevention under the supervision of social education and therapy specialists.

If the progression of the measures is stable, young offenders will be granted more and more freedom up to the point of leaving the MZU every weekend from Friday night to Sunday evening. Broader freedoms during the week are granted until young offenders are able to establish regular leisure activities.

From the open custody setting, young offenders are admitted to the Discharge living unit. Young offenders either join a supervised living unit, a closely monitored outplacement in the same building, or he goes on to live in his own place.  

The Discharge living unit (WGA for German «Wohngruppe Austritt») is an open living unit located on the MZU premises. There are six places available for young offenders.

Supervision by the three pillars of the MZU (social education, professional training, and offense-oriented therapy) continues to be granted. The structures of the living unit allow young offenders more individual responsibility in day-to-day life. This offers the chance of an in-depth examination with risk-relevant situations of their daily life and promotes further personal development processes. Regular alcohol and drug tests and attendance checks continue to be carried out.  

Supervision and treatment  

Medical care

The Centre for Correctional Measures has a medical care unit that is at the inmates’ disposal if needed. In the open custody section, there is a hospital room where the young offender is taken care of. Within Closed Custody, the admitted patient is locked up in his own living cell, as long as the illness allows it.

Psychiatric care

Young offenders are treated forensically and psychologically by the Psychiatric-Psychological Service (PPS). The MZU offers cognitive behavioural therapy, gestalt therapy, client-centred conversational psychotherapy, and psychotherapy. Thanks to these methods, young offenders learn to express themselves and to better their understanding of offense-relevant feelings. Ideally, he will finally be able to develop alternatives to self-damaging and harmful behaviour and put them into everyday practice.

Offense-oriented therapy

Offense-oriented therapy confronts young offenders with their delinquency-promoting thought processes, phantasies, and behaviour patterns. They will deal with their tendencies for aggressive behaviour and propensity to violence. This shall help young offenders to learn to take responsibility for their own behaviour and to develop compassion for the victims.

Addiction treatment

Many of the young offenders committed to the MZU have been consuming legal or illegal drugs prior to their admission to the MZU. In some cases, these drugs are in some way related to the committed crime or crimes.

There are various ways in which the MZU addresses these addiction problems:

  • Support of everyday abilities and skills, such as cleanliness, tidiness, time management, food culture, leisure planning, health consciousness
  • Socio-pedagogical interventions (individual conversations, social training, topic-focussed groups)
  • Everyday critical analysis within the living unit
  • Risk-oriented work with offenders

Basic Education and Further Training

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At the school of both the closed and the open custody settings, the first thing to take place is an evaluation of the young offender’s educational skills. The goal of the school education is to create the best possible conditions for the vocational school. Before transferring to vocational school, the teacher and the young offender evaluate their work to date and jointly prepare a transfer report.

During their professional education, young offenders not only receive general education, but also specialized education provided by staff of the respective business.  

Various workplaces are available for the vocational training of the young offenders according to their respective requirements.

In the case of young offenders who stay in the closed custody for a longer period of time the workplaces (joinery, metal production, painting enterprise) ensure a start of training. The training is based on the training plans of the respective professions and includes vocational and school elements. This favors the further course of the training in one of the workplaces in the open custody or a transfer to an external follow-up placement.

In closed custody, the workplaces take care of the young offenders’ vocational training. The MZU offers training for the degrees Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (Eidgenössisches Fähigkeitszeugnis EFZ), Federal Certificate of Vocational Education and Training (Eidgenössisches Berufsattest EBA), and competence certificate for the jobs listed below:

  • Garage
  • Nursery
  • Household management
  • Kitchen
  • Farming
  • Painting
  • Metal construction
  • Carpentry Technical services

Please find further information on the workplaces (in German):

Services & educational sectors

Not only do young offenders get a professional education at the workplaces of the MZU: They also offer services and products for industry, commerce, trade, and private customers.

Services

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The MZU’s paintwork workshop is a modern facility with a high-performance spraying booth, allowing for commissions of all sizes. The workshop guarantees high-quality work, compliance with agreements concerning prices and deadlines, and the use of environmentally friendly materials.

What the workshop offers:
  • Façade renovations
  • Apartment renovations
  • Stairway renovations
  • General spatter work

Feel free to call for a non-binding offer.

Telephone +41 44 498 23 20
Fax +41 44 498 23 29
malerei-mzu@ji.zh.ch

The metal construction workshop of the MZU is a modern facility equipped with all the necessary machines. This enables a variety of services – from general metalwork to custom products.

What the workshop offers:
  • Custom outdoor furniture
  • Banisters and handrails
  • Projecting roofs and partition walls
  • General work and repairs

Feel free to call for a non-binding offer.

Telephone +41 44 498 23 10
Fax +41 44 498 23 19
metallbau-mzu@ji.zh.ch  

The carpentry workshop of the MZU is a modern facility that ensures comprehensive training for the young offenders. It makes sure that the wood that is used is from sustainable, certified silviculture and offers furniture for outdoor and indoor use as well as everyday objects.

What the workshop offers
  • Tables and chairs made from solid wood
  • Outdoor tables and benches
  • Shelves and beds made to measure
  • General carpentry work

Feel free to call for a non-binding offer.

Telephone +41 44 498 23 40
Fax +41 44 498 23 49
schreinerei-mzu@ji.zh.ch  

At the MZU’s nursery, plant lovers can shop for indoor and outdoor plants that were cultivated on-site. There are also fresh and seasonal cut flowers and bouquets for every occasion, decorations, gifts, furniture, and other items for sale at the MZU’s shop.

What the nursery offers
  • Spring, summer, and autumn flowers
  • Herbs and spices
  • Bouquets, flower arrangements, and gifts
  • Flower arrangements for any occasion

Telephone +41 44 498 23 30
Fax +41 44 498 23 39
gaertnerei-mzu@ji.zh.ch  

The Schlossgut farm is leased by the Centre for Correctional Measures Uitikon and, as its partner, trains young offenders to be farmers. The farm includes a large herd of dairy cattle with young cattle rearing as well as a variety of field crops.

What the farm offers
  • Boarding for horses in modern bays with access to the outside
  • Firewood delivery
  • Direct sales of milk and potatoes

Feel free to call for a non-binding offer.

Telephone +41 44 498 24 02
Fax +41 43 321 98 65
h.stalder@dtc.ch  

As a partner of the Centre for Correctional Measures Uitikon, the Waldegg garage offers young offenders vocational training in vehicle maintenance. The car repair shop is a modern facility that offers its clients a diverse range of services.

What the garage offers
  • Repairs and servicing for all brands
  • Troubleshooting / diagnostic analysis
  • Window tinting
  • Seasonal check and check before presenting for inspection

Feel free to call for a non-binding offer.

Telephone +41 44 491 77 05
Fax +41 44 491 77 06
waldegg-garage@uitikon.ch  

Leisure

The admitted offender can use the sports facilities of the activity center (gym, yard, fitness room, soccer field, swimming pond, etc.) As part of the vocational training, participation in sports lessons is obligatory for those who are undergoing internal vocational training.

Carmelo Campanello

Director

Carmelo Campanello leitet das Massnahmenzentrum Uitikon (MZU).

Contact

Centre for Correctional Measures Uitikon

Address

Zürcherstrasse 100
8142 Uitikon
Route (Google)

Phone

+41 44 498 21 21

Phone

+41 44 498 21 11

Fax

Email

info-mzu@ji.zh.ch