The German correctional system is based on a dualistic arrangement of penalties and rehabilitative measures. In 2012, a total of 56,562 convicts were serving a prison sentence in a correctional institution, and 10,721 were being treated in a court‐ordered intervention. By the end of the 1990s, forensic psychiatric treatment based entirely on a medical model was replaced by a multimodal approach, aimed at reducing dangerousness in offenders. The current focus of public discussion in Germany is the role of preventive detention, which requires a shift from merely “locking away” the offender toward active treatment in various forensic settings.