The penitentiary centers of the Canary Islands housed 3,494 inmates at the end of June, the highest figure since September 2014, according to the latest report from the Canary Institute of Statistics (ISTAC).
That total figure is divided between 3,278 men and 216 women, and it does not specify how many of these people correspond to the social inclusion centers (CIS), although union sources consulted by Efe put them at around 300.
Since March 2021, the number of inmates in the Canary Islands, then 3,289 people, has been increasing to 3,494 last June, the latest data available in the ISTAC statistics.
The highest figure in the historical series (2000-2020) was recorded in April 2013: 3,813 people deprived of liberty.
The proportion of inmates based on their procedural-criminal situation was as follows at the end of 2020: 2,585 sentenced, 52 sentenced with preventive measures and 7 with security measures.
In the Canary Islands there are five penitentiary centres, Tenerife II, Las Palmas I (Salto del Negro), Las Palmas II, Arrecife and La Palma, two social inclusion centres, and two CIS, one in Tenerife and the other in Lanzarote, as well as facilities of similar characteristics dependent on Las Palmas I.
Joaquín Leyva, spokesman for the Association of Penitentiary Administration Bodies (ACAIP), told Efe that in the Canary Islands there is overcrowding in all penitentiary centers except La Palma, where the problem lies in its location and that almost all of its cells are shared, as is the case in Arrecife.
It details, with data updated two days ago, that Tenerife II has 771 cells and there are more than 880 inmates; in Las Palmas II, 1,008 places, although there are several closed modules, with which the capacity is reduced to 828, but there are more than 950 inmates; in Las Palmas I there are 730 inmates compared to an official capacity of 606; and in Arrecife, more than 350 inmates for a capacity of 236 beds.
Leyva emphasizes that these rates of overcrowding, which are common in the Spanish prison system, “greatly limit” the internal classification of inmates, and cause “almost all” cells to be doubled when the law establishes that they must be for individual use. .
The insular fact is also noted in the Canarian prisons, since it makes it difficult for inmates to be transferred, either to other islands or to the Peninsula, which ends up leading to “security problems” in the centers and episodes of aggression between inmates and officials. .
Another peculiarity of the Canary Islands is that it is the “gateway” for immigration, which also has an impact on penitentiary institutions: people pending transfer or being returned to their countries of origin.
The ACAIP spokesperson indicates that this could be one of the factors that explains the increase in inmates experienced in the Canary Islands since March 2021, contrary to the downward trend in the rest of the country.
To the problem of overcrowding, Leyva adds that of “the endemic lack” of personnel, with a ratio that ranges between 70 and 80 inmates for each official.
In addition, he asks to take into account that among the officials it is necessary to distinguish between administrative, health, managers and security guards.
