Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) - "Corruption and human rights violations are widespread in almost all the prisons in the Country. The monstrous corruption that prevails in these institutions clearly shows that with this system and with the staff that runs it, crime can certainly not be eliminated and it will be difficult to find the right path related to real social reintegration of detainees." This is what is read in the editorial of the magazine of the Archdiocese of Mexico "Desde la Fe", sent to Fides Agency, where the Catholic Church points out that legislators, resorting too often to imprisonment, have contributed to allowing that the closed-loop "crime- prison-contamination-crime" repeats itself in a dead end. Therefore it is now more necessary than ever to find new methods: sanctions for minor offenses, the use of technological progress in prisons, to qualify and select professional prison staff.
The prison system in Mexico collapsed a long time ago. There are 225,000 prisoners in some of the 500 detention centers, and 100,000 more with suspended sentence, released under control. We must also bear in mind that we are talking about 325,000 families who live, in one way or another, the experience of prison, because they are singled out in their communities and, in many cases, are excluded from social programs. The message of the archdiocese is clear: "We must all have a social responsibility, so that we can all contribute to the prevention of crime and the building of peace and non-violence." In addition, the archdiocesan weekly calls what happens "inconceivable": the massive flight of detainees before the eyes of the leaders of criminal centers. In some cases, the vehicles used for the flight come back several times to collect other inmates who want to escape. "Even more absurd and unacceptable - the editorial points out - is the fact that the authorities tell the public that they are studying why this happens." (CE) (Agenzia Fides 16/10/2012)
