By
Rosary3 |
The intense criminal activity in prisons forced a debate that was dormant: Does confinement serve to guide people who committed crimes when prisons are hellish places? Weeks ago, the prosecutor of the Shooting Unit, Valeria Haurigot, assured in Radiopolis (Radio 2) that high-profile inmates only use the media to stay in the criminal universe, she even considered that they do not reveal any interest in improving, that is, in leaving behind a way of life that took them behind bars. Aníbal Pineda, federal chambermaid, also referred to the high rate of recidivism as yet another sign that inside, the inmates do not recover. In dialogue with Rosario 3, Fernando Benítez from the Tercer Tiempo Foundation, was categorical when he maintained that prison is a dehumanized place and that the current prison system is useless.
In the same line is Jaquelina Balangione, the provincial defender of Santa Fe. In dialogue with Radiopolis (Radio 2) and shortly following finishing his term, he shared the already installed figure that jail is “an office of crime.” “It is an affirmation that I share and it is a look at the prisons, of this very complex reality of the Argentine and Santa Fe prisons,” he said, adding: “It is the consequence of a model that does not go any further, that does not give the response that society deserves.”
For the official, the detention is an opportunity to corrupt young prisoners who are admitted for the first time for minor crimes. “They are recruited as labor,” she mentioned. Many times, that activity continues abroad. “Prison does not put a stop to the problems that lead people there, it does not resocialize, but rather the opposite, it aggravates the problems,” he remarked.
Then, he insisted on his position: “It is very clear, society cannot look to the side anymore, jail is useless, it has to be accompanied by other public policies,” he said. “I believe that the problem is on the table, I was with (the mayor, Pablo) Javkin and I told him” I agree and I will accompany you “because his speech is fed back with what I say and what (the president of the Court) also said of Provincial Justice, Daniel) Erbetta. These are undeniable things, 6 years ago I was very alone saying it. Today we have 10,000 prisoners, which is a very high figure. with 40 percent of pretrial detention, with very old jails, with workshops for much fewer people, it is chaotic, they only put patches on,” he said.
To do
Balangione has studied and analyzed alternatives developed in the world. “For me what goes is restorative justice, convicted persons, discriminating those who committed more serious crimes from young people. There are 70 percent of young people who committed a crime for the first time and that are not serious, ”he specified.
According to what he said, he traveled to the Basque Country and Cantabria where there are “modern and innovative models”. “They don’t have the problem of poverty but they do have terrorism and migration. They told me that 30 years ago they suffered prisons similar to ours. Today it’s nice to see them, with people working because they get contracts with companies. They also propose mixed prisons”, he deepened and concluded: “We have to have a constructive view of human beings, with prisons that give prisoners opportunities to rebuild their lives.”
