Department R3 is the only secure inpatient juvenile forensic unit in Switzerland, with a total of 11 treatment places for adolescents of all genders. The unit also admits adolescents for inpatient assessments and provides crisis intervention for young people referred from youth detention units and prisons across German-speaking Switzerland. All inpatient admissions are made following a referral by the relevant authority, either the Youth Prosecutor’s Office or the Child and Adult Protection Authority (KESB).

Adolescents are encouraged to actively participate in shaping and influencing their daily lives within the unit and to gradually take responsibility for their own actions. They are supported by an interdisciplinary treatment team comprising specialists in adolescent psychiatry, nursing, social pedagogy, psychology and therapy.