Overcrowding: Federal District Prisons Hold More Than Double the Maximum Capacity

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With maximum capacity to accommodate 7,395 prisoners, the prison system of the Federal District (DF) holds 16,766 detainees. The number exceeds by more than twice the number of spaces, meaning that the overcrowding amounts to 9,371 prisoners.

These figures are part of a study carried out by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in May this year, which Metrópoles newspaper accessed. Overcrowding in the prisons of the country’s capital is one of the highest in Brazil. The occupancy rate reaches 226.72 percent.

Since 2016, the number of spaces in Brazilian prisons has remained the same. At the time, the situation was worrisome, and the deficit reached 7,563. Since then, the number of prisoners has not stopped growing: it increased from 14,958 to 16,766.

In addition to overcrowding, the balance reflects the lack of investment in the prison system in Brazil. The use of federal funds for financing, maintenance, and investments in the prison system plummeted.

In 2016, of the R$44.7 million (US$11.1 million) allocated to the DF government, only R$8.8 million (US$2.2 million) was used – 19.73 percent of the total.

In 2017, only 7.97 percent of the budget was used – R$1 million (US$250.000) of the R$12.7 million (US$3.175 million) available. As for 2018, not a single Real out of the available R$1.3 million (US$325.000) was implemented by the local government, headed by Rodrigo Rollemberg over the three years.

In February this year, data released by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) showed that the Federal District ranks third in the country’s deficit of vacant spaces. The overcrowding of prisons in the Brazilian capital was second only to the plight in the prison systems of Pernambuco and Roraima.

In a note, the Department of Public Security of the Federal District (SSP) reported that four new provisional detention centers are being built. “Expected to be ready within a year, the new units will provide 3,200 spaces — 800 in each center.”

According to the text, the reform of Block 3 of the Center for Penitentiary Progression (CPP) is also underway, which will increase the unit’s capacity by 625 spaces. According to SSP, the work is scheduled to be completed in 2019.

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