One of the main problems of prison management in our country is the overcrowding of the prison population. Currently, there are more than 105 thousand inmates, compared to a shelter capacity of only 42 thousand people. This situation has even been recognized by the Constitutional Court, which in 2020 declared an “Unconstitutional State of Affairs”, demanding urgent actions from the Peruvian State.
This reality not only shows serious structural precariousness, but also limits the capacity of the penitentiary system to adequately meet its objectives of re-education, rehabilitation and social reintegration. An overcrowded prison system loses control, and when the State loses control within prisons, those who gain space are the criminal organizations that operate from within, planning crimes such as extortion and hitmen.
During this administration we have identified that the mechanisms aimed at decrowding penitentiary establishments have not been used with the intensity that the situation demands. For this reason, the MINJUSDH will present a National Plan for the Unpacking of Penitentiary Establishments, aimed at unblocking the main bottlenecks of the system: deficit of specialized personnel, administrative delays and coordination with the Judiciary to quickly resolve the legal situation of the inmates. In a first stage, this plan will allow the release of more than 5 thousand inmates sentenced to sentences of up to 5 years, under strict evaluation and control criteria.
However, it is important to be absolutely clear: decrowding does not mean releasing dangerous criminals or putting citizens at risk. The approach of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights is technical and responsible. It focuses exclusively on primary inmates, convicted of minimally harmful crimes, who do not represent a risk to public safety, strictly applying the current legal mechanisms, such as the substitution and conversion of sentences, prison benefits and the redemption of sentences.
But, above all, it is a necessary measure to strengthen citizen security. Reducing overcrowding will allow for better classification of inmates according to their level of danger, greater control and effective surveillance, as well as more efficient use of State resources. This will allow spaces for organized crime to be closed within penitentiary establishments. In other words, this plan does not weaken security: it strengthens it.
For this reason, from the MINJUSDH we call on all institutions of the justice system, as well as civil society, to join this responsible public policy, which seeks a clear balance between respect for the law, the efficiency of the system and the real protection of citizens.
*El Comercio opens its pages to the exchange of ideas and reflections. In this plural framework, the Diario does not necessarily agree with the opinions of the columnists who sign them, although it always respects them.
