In Chile's recent presidential debate, candidates focused prison proposals on building new infrastructure like high-security facilities and prison ships. However, a letter to the editor in La Tercera critiques this approach for overlooking rehabilitation and high recidivism risks. Expert Francisca Undurraga calls for a more comprehensive strategy to transform the penitentiary system from within.
Chile's latest presidential debate highlighted prison policy proposals, including building high-security facilities, relocating prisons away from urban centers, and even renting prison ships. Francisca Undurraga from Fundación P!ensa notes in a letter to La Tercera that these ideas focused almost exclusively on infrastructure, neglecting key areas like social reintegration.
Prison overcrowding is alarming: nationally at 147%, and in regions like Valparaíso exceeding 80% capacity. Undurraga stresses the issue extends beyond space, stemming from a system that fails to prevent recidivism. Amuch figures show 50.9% of those who served sentences in 2023 had high or very high recidivism risk. A 2024 University of Chile study confirms about 43.2% of the prison population reoffends.
In Sunday's debate, candidates outlined where to punish offenders but did not delve into how to stop reoffending. They skipped changes to prison routines, regime enforcement, or improvements to the eight reintegration programs facing issues. Undurraga points to a recent attempted arson against the accused in the Esteban Hermosilla homicide as evidence that basic standards are not even met in current facilities.
"If we cannot guarantee the minimum in current prisons, how will we ensure new ones function better?", the author questions. She urges candidates to specify what they will do differently to transform the system from within, beyond mere expansion.