SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, Guanajuato.- A guardhouse, a metal detector, personal registration and the safeguarding of not allowed objects, is the first filter to enter the State Center for Prevention and Social Reintegration of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, one of the 58 Mexican prisons with certification from the North American Correctional Association (ACA).
The certification obtained at the end of 2015 and made official in 2016 aims to be renewed by 2018.
There are 40 mandatory and 97 optional standards, which are divided into seven axes:
- Security,
- Protection,
- Order
- Care
- Activity Programs
- Justice and Administration
- Management
In a media tour accompanied by the directors of the Cereso and personnel of the program of corrections of the embassy of the United States, local authorities showcased some of the implemented strategies to obtain the certification.
“The service that is given to the offender’s reltaives has imporved significantly, less waiting time for the entrance, less risk situations for the visitors, etc. In the last three years, the state of Guanajuato has been established as one of the most efficient penitentiary systems derived from the ACA penitentiary diagnosis, and we hope to continue improving, “said Arturo Castañeda, Guanajuato’s Director of Coordination and Control of State Penitentiaries.
Arturo Castañeda, Guanajuato’s Director of Coordination and Control of State Penitentiaries leading a tour (Photo: SIPSE)
The Social Reintegration Center (Centro de reintegración social: Cereso) has five levels with a panoptic structure, which allows the guards of each of the four towers to have visibility of all inmates in each section at all times.
Medical area
The medical area is of special interest in ACA evaluations, in which case they have three doctors, three nurses, one dentist and two psychologists, as well as an emergency and first-level care unit. They also feature a strict inventory of pills and medicines, which are discounted as prescribed to patients.
The tools used by inmates, just like the medicines, have a special and strict control too. These are hung on the wall, but a “shadow” has been painted underneath each one, so guards can notice immediately when a tool has been withdrawn to be used. When an inmate uses a tool, he has to submit his ID credential so guards know who took it.
“In addition to the control of medicines and tools, we also have a strict control for keys”, says Gregorio Nicasio, Director of the Guanajuato Penitentiary System, “oru staff is 100% trust controlled and there is no tolerance for those who do not comply with regulations. We also have protocols to prevent the entry of mobile phones that could be used for the commission of crimes, and obviously we have a close watch to avoid the entry of drugs”.
SMA prison facility inmate manufacturing handcrafts (Photo: SIPSE)
Reviews and certification
“We conduct daily random reviews in all Guanajuato prison facilities, in order to detect any irregularities, and proceed to confiscate any drugs, cell phones or any other not allowed item, said Nicasio. ”
The ACA certification is inherited from the Merida Initiative signed in 2008 and includes the Corrections Program, implemented by the Office of Drug Enforcement and Law Enforcement (INL).
This accreditation indicates that the Prison Center in question complies with minimum standards of practice and policy while providing at the same time mechanisms for prison officials to improve conditions, increase accountability and provide a safer and more humane environment. In Mexico there are 58 centers with this certification, 16 of the were just recently accredited on January 23, 2017.
The State Center for Prevention and Social Reintegration of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato is currently headed by Jorge Luis Mares Medrano and has a population of 270 inmates, 92 percent of its capacity, which can reach up to 293 inmates.
Source: http://sipse.com/
