On 1 October the Spanish Government will transfer to the Basque Government the CAV's prison jurisdiction. “What is actually transferred is the economic and administrative management of the prisons, but the prisoners are not transferred, that is the fundamental thing,” said the members of the association Salhaketa Araba at the press conference they offered this Monday morning. The transfer of competences will affect infrastructure, prisons and other workers, as well as transfers between CAV prisons or social intervention resources, among others. But prison legislation and regulations will remain state-wide, which, according to the association, “directly affects the imposition of third grades and conditional freedoms”. It has also stressed that the competence of the transfer of CAV prisoners "will remain in the hands of the State in all cases".

SALHAKETA considered that the new Basque prison model announced by the Basque Government did not have "much scope" for making significant changes. However, it has called for an attempt to do so and has called on associations, institutions and political, trade union and social actors to work towards an alternative penitentiary and punitive model for prisoners of war. A social perspective model, “people-centered”.

Strategic plan for the closure of prisons

Salhaketa has put forward a battery of proposals to create an “Eusko Label” model to reduce crime rates and gradually stop using prisons. First of all, it has called for a strategic plan to close the Zaballa, Martutene and Basauri prisons in the medium term, while measures are being developed that are free of deprivation of liberty. The association has denounced that the construction of the new Zubieta prison is incompatible with this line of action. Instead of prisons, it has called for the opening of "specific small social reintegration centres" in cities and towns, taking into account that three-quarters of the prisoners suffer from mental illness or serious drug dependencies, and that most of the crimes they bring to prison are related to poverty and exclusion: physical and mental health, drug dependencies, education or training for employment. He has called for the development of benefits at the time of departure, stressing that it would be a great step to approve an Unconditional Basic Income for all citizens. Salhaketa has proposed the creation of an independent observatory to ensure the security of the territory. The observatory would ensure the rights of both the person who committed the crime and the victim of the crime, and would think and develop, inter alia, alternatives.

 

Breakage or continuation

“If the Basque Government does not radically change the model of crime prevention and control, both to respond to violations and to redress victimized persons, the same model will be reformed,” said Salhaketa. “They will change the labels, make up the dungeons to continue doing the same thing as usual: many will do business of keeping prisoners, victims of crime and their families locked, resigned or abandoned.”