The Minister of the Interior, Juan Jose Santivañezproposed that the 67 penitentiary centers in PeruThey are territorially controlled by the National Police of Peru.
To support his proposal, the head of the Interior said that “many of the extortions come from the establishments themselves and, what’s more, we have even recommended the identification of the bosses within the prison so that they can be changed to another regime and sent to Challapalca.”
For its part, the head of InpeJavier Llaque said that this is a joint effort with the Ministry. He also recalled that “many years ago, the Police took control of the prisons” but then returned to their sector.
“I think it is about working together with the Police. They are our allies and every time the Police alert us, some infraction, some organization from prisons, we act immediately. (…). The role of the Inpe is to control the prisons and we are helped by the investigative capacity of the PNP. Together we will do a good job,” he added.
On the other hand, the head of the Interior portfolio reported on the case of contract killing against Fanny Hernández, an INPE lawyer who was gunned down in front of the Chincha prison.
“In the case of this lawyer and the server who were attacked in the city of Ica, the National Police has already fully identified the mastermind behind the crime. He is in prison and immediate action is being taken against him,” he said.
Situation of prisons in Peru
At the end of 2023, the Minister of Justice,Eduardo Aranaannounced that they approved a bill that aims to address theprison overcrowding. In this context, he indicated that the Constitutional Court has already issued a ruling so that, in 2 years,Temporarily close prisons that do not meet adequate prison conditionsto continue admitting inmates.
“A legislative decree was passed today to address prison overcrowding. As you know, there is a ruling by the Constitutional Court that states that within two years, those prisons that do not have the prison conditions required by law must be closed,” he said on Canal N.
On the other hand, he mentioned that, with the current decree, the aim is to ensure that prisoners who have had good conduct in prison and, above all, whohave committed simple negligent crimes are benefitedin order to reduce overcrowding in the prison.
“On the other hand, we have seen that the conditions in prisons are not the most appropriate. During my administration, we have been able to see that many inmates have engaged in productive activities, interesting programs, such as Orquestando. The purpose of this rule is to benefit inmates who have the ability to have demonstrated exemplary conduct in prison. In this way, the attempt is to decongest the prisons for those inmates who have committed negligent crimes such as forgery, simple theft, even simple injuries. Those who commit kidnapping, aggravated robbery, terrorism or rape will not benefit; we believe that in this way we will decongest the prisons,” he continued.
