- On 1 October it is two years since the Basque Government took over the prison management of the CAPV. The biennial balance sheet report has just been published. 1,577 people are imprisoned. 86% are sanctioned, 8% are women and 31% are in third grade. The report notes that the development of the Basque Penitentiary Model is conditioned by two factors: the pandemic and the lack of infrastructure.
On September 30, the Basque Government published the report Balance of two years of prison management in the Basque Country. The actions of the Basque Government take as a reference the document Bases for the implementation of the penitentiary model in the Basque Parliament. Based on this, he is building the Basque Penitentiary Model.
In the process of adapting to the new situation, the report identifies two factors that have influenced the development of management. On the one hand, in October 2021 the transfer was made and since March 2020 society was in the midst of a pandemic. Gaps in infrastructure are also highlighted. They highlight the absence of outdated infrastructures, insertion centres, closed regime departments and units of mothers.
Since the transmission, the prison population has increased. More attention is given to people than to people who can move to centres outside the CAPV.
The report points out that with the establishment of the new Gipuzkoa prison and the elaboration of the new list of workplaces under processing, an increase in operational capacity is expected.
They hope that the new Gipuzkoa prison will be completed by the end of the year. However, the report notes that this does not mean that the immediate closure and transfer of the current Martutene prison is effective. If deadlines are met, the new prison would be in operation in the spring of 2024.
1,577 prisoners
According to data from 11 September 2023, there are 1,577 people in Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa prisons. Of these, 86% are sanctioned and 14% are in a preventive position.
8% of those serving sentences are women. The state average is 9% and the European average is 5%.
As for age, most prisoners are concentrated in two age groups: 31-40 and 41-50.
From their origin, 31.45% are foreigners. The state average is 27% and in Europe 25%.
31 per cent of convicted prisoners are in third grade and on probation 221 persons.
As regards staff, there are 622 staff jobs in the three countries. The workforce is 52 people and 70 interim staff.
Requests for transfer to CAPV prisons have been 656 and 384 have been denied the request. As the report explains, “the level of occupation generates tensions in the penitentiary centers, which has prevented all the demand for the voluntary transfer to the Basque Country of people in centers other than the State”.