Post on 27-Mar-2015
Prison: Problems and challenges for the Americas
Lucía DammertSecurity and Citizenship Program
FLACSO-Chile
Insecurity
• Rise in crime
• Increase in use of violence
• Stiffer criminal laws
• Public support for punishment
• Limited use of alternative measures
• Police arrest and justice is slow
• Officials ¨prisoners¨
Source: FLACSO-Chile, 2008, ECLAC population database
0100200300400500
pris oners per 100,000 inhabs .
Prison populations in Latin America and the Caribbean
Prison systems
• Cross-cutting crisis – Overpopulation – Abysmal living conditions – Limited budget for rehabilitation– Rise in prison population at police jails and
other facilities – Criminal contagion (shared spaces)
Overpopulation and remand prisoners
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
reclusos sin condena sobrepoblación
Source: FLACSO, 2008, with data supplied by respective prison administrations and statistical yearbooks.
Institutions
• Dependence on diverse agencies not always connected with Justice
• In many countries the police guard and provide security at prisons
• Prison system-specific institutions– Limited budget – Weak social protection
Challenges
1. BUDGETS
• Low levels of investment, budgets large but insufficient
• Limited social pressure for better conditions
• Different perceptions of rights
• Limited health coverage
Gasto penitenciario por programa
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
% d
e g
ast
o
gasto en personal
gasto insumos
gasto en salud
gasto en reinserción
Source: FLACSO, 2008, with data supplied by respective prison administrations and statistical yearbooks.
Health of inmates
Source: Prepared by the author, 2008, with data supplied by respective prison administrations in the countries mentioned. Data current to June 2008, except for Chile where data corresponds to December 2007.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Belice Chile Costa Rica México Panamá Paraguay
ETS % Enfermos mentales Otras.
2. NEW ISSUES
• Increase in the female population
• Globalization of prison populations
• Prison violence– Impunity– Violence – Suicide
Female prison population
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
Foreign prisoners
0,0%2,0%4,0%6,0%8,0%
10,0%12,0%14,0%16,0%18,0%
Prison violence: Deaths and injuries in Venezuela
0
200
400
600
800
1.000
1.200
1.400
1.600
1.800
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Muertos Heridos
Source: FLACSO, 2008, with data from the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, 2008.
Comparative perspective
• Success stories still the exception • Need for regional collaboration mechanisms • Strengthening of officials (role and
coverage)• Human Rights are essential not only to
protect the prison but also for rehabilitation • Recognize the drug abuse crisis