The overcrowding and inadequate conditions of detention centers in Cali, Caribbean cities and other capitals of the country is a warning, warns the Ombudsman, “that translates into fights and mutiny attempts.”
Cali News.
In a cell there can be up to 15 inmates or more, although in the transitory detention center in San Nicolás in the center of Cali the place is cleaner and more orderly, the overcrowding and the precarious conditions are evident and this was confirmed by the Ombudsman del Pueblo during his visit this Thursday.
The capital of the Valley is one of the cities with the most overcrowding of this type of jail in the country.
Cali has 274%, the others are: Bucaramanga with 835.6%, Santa Marta with 590%, Bogotá with 553.4%, Cúcuta with 491.4%, Riohacha with 333.7%, Medellín with 293.3%, Valledupar with 268% and Maicao with 208%. .
Carlos Camargo, Ombudsman, called for an urgent solution to “the overcrowding crisis” in these places.
There, only those detained in the judicial process should be present and not spend more than a week, but cases have been found of prisoners who have been waiting for hearings or judicial decisions for months.
The Human Rights report on persons deprived of their liberty warned of “the serious humanitarian situation.”
- Violence (due to the same overcrowding)
- Inadequate sleeping spaces (in a cell for more than 15 and next to each other on mats and hammocks)
- Health problems: spread of diseases, mainly viral or infectious.
- Inadequate and unsanitary infrastructure
- Stress increases among the population deprived of liberty: it translates into constant fights and mutiny attempts
In addition, these jails are in highly populated areas, in neighborhoods or central spaces of cities, which also implies a problem of coexistence and citizen security.
This problem was exacerbated by the health emergency presented by COVID-19.
In March 2020, INPEC made the decision to prohibit the entry of new people (convicted and accused) to its prisons, so that overpopulation of inmates skyrocketed in the URIs of the Prosecutor’s Office and Police stations.
For the month of August 2021, these centers had 19,471 people deprived of liberty for their maximum capacity of 6,727 people, which represented 189% overcrowding, while for the month of March of the current year, those deprived of liberty freedom in these centers amount to 20,951 people, compared to a capacity of 7,131 places.
An alarming figure of 194% overcrowding.
The Ombudsman warns that necessary measures must be taken in a timely manner’, and avoid a tragedy.
For the entity, not only the life and integrity of those deprived of liberty are at risk, but also the Public Force, “which is forced to assume a task that is far from its constitutional mission.”
2/4 In the presentation of the report on the current situation of the #Human rights of people deprived of liberty, we explain that the problem of overcrowding was exacerbated by the health emergency of the #COVID19.
Check the report here??https://t.co/Xq9qTAXEtY pic.twitter.com/Emhl54cZAL
— Ombudsman (@DefensoriaCol) March 31, 2022
