Prison population in Uruguay triples world rate

Figures from the Ministry of the Interior published by the newspaper El Observador show that 14,501 citizens are behind bars, which represents 408 inmates for every 100,000 inhabitants, which places Uruguay in a vanguard position, but on an unwanted list.

The issue has other national implications, particularly the overcrowding in prisons, where there are 11,147 places, but the inmates exceed capacity by 30%.

An example is the Santiago Vázquez prison, formally recognized as “Unit No 4”, in which 4,378 prisoners live with just over 3,000 positions, while in other centers the inmates double and more than the available places.

The reduction of spaces increases the pressure on coexistence and the possibilities of conflict, authorities acknowledge.

El Observador obtained the opinion of criminologists Olga Sánchez and Nicolás Trajtenberg, who investigated acts of violence in the Santiago Vázquez prison.

The experts found that the officially reported incidents were only 15%t of such events that, according to surveys and interviews, actually occurred.

A decade ago, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, visited Uruguayan prisons, the newspaper recalled.

And he recalls that then the international official was lapidary:

“The detainees are housed in deplorable conditions, in overcrowded cells that do not have adequate sanitary facilities or places to sleep (…) The people of Uruguay, a country recognized for its democracy and social development, do not deserve this prison system,” he said then.

With information from Prensa Latina