Progress on issues related to the re-socialization of the prison population presented in the Justice Reform Bill

One of the National Government's main flags for this year is to advance a reform of the justice system and of the criminal procedure and penitentiary legislation. To this end, the Minister of Justice, Néstor Osuna, presented before the Congress of the Republic a Bill with these changes.

One of the major changes that are intended is a reform to the current penitentiary treatment system. Thus, the penalty would have a greater focus on resocialization and not retribution.

Among the changes that the Government is proposing to this system is to reconsider the phases of penitentiary treatment. This implies a change in the conditions for accessing the legal and administrative benefits to which the prison population is entitled when they must prepare for their reintegration into society. Among these changes we highlight the reconfiguration of the security phases and the phases of preparation for release. 

At present, Law 65 of 1993 classifies individuals deprived of their liberty in five stages:

1. Observation, diagnosis and classification of the inmate;

2. High security, imprisonment period;

3.  Medium security, which includes the semi-open period;

4. Minimum security or open period; and

5. Parole.

The new text proposes the reclassification into four phases, namely:

1. Observation, diagnosis and classification of the inmate, the duration of which shall not exceed 3 months;

2. Internal phase of preparation for release;

3. Intermediate phase of preparation for release, which will coincide with the following administrative benefits: up to 72 hours leave, weekend release;

4. External phase of preparation for release, which will coincide with the preparatory franchise 1 The preparatory franchise allows the convicted person to study, work or teach outside the prison to which he/she is assigned, with the obligation to report periodically to the Penitentiary Institution and release 2 Preparatory liberty allows the convicted person to work in factories, companies or with recognized persons that allow control and compliance with prison rules. .

This change implies making the transition within the phases of prison treatment much friendlier to the prison population. This because the Bill proposes that mobility between phases should be focused on providing opportunities for those serving a sentence to return to society sooner.  

For example, this has been done by facilitating access to the administrative benefit of a permit of up to 72 hours of freedom. Currently, one of the requirements for access is to have served 33% of the sentence imposed, while the Bill has reduced it to 25%. 

Finally, the Bill includes an administrative benefit called Weekend Permit. This permit may be requested by those individuals who demonstrate good conduct, are in the intermediate phase of preparation for release, had already obtained a permit of up to 72 hours, had served 40% of their sentence, among others. This new benefit will allow those who are returning to social life to adapt better to their freedom.

These, among many other changes, seem to give renewed relevance to the prison population in order to fulfill one of the most important purposes of the sentence, resocialization. This Bill reinforces the idea of re-socialization that, by law, the sentence has always had to have and provides a series of tools to the prison population that allows them to reintroduce themselves into society in a more friendly and progressive way than what they had until now. This for them to be productive citizens.

This can be seen with the inclusion of Human Rights offices in all prisons, as well as with the inclusion of therapeutic communities that materialize the restorative and resocializing approach of the reform.