Living In A Women's Prison

[MikeFisher]

aaah,
i don't guess too much more blondies are willing to loose even the cut in half country club 4years of lifetime due to a reformation.

they are now with horrible prison conditions willing to risk their lifes and do the jobs.

i don't guess it will be so much more of them willing to take the risk just out of the knowledge that dominican female prisons are on a way of 'uppering services' towards a higher hospitality/lodging stars class.

the druglords do not have probs to find mulies to bring their products to other countries where prisons are much worse than dominican ole time fashioned ones.

i really don't think that the boys and gals who decide to do such jobs think too much about the prison conditions of the country where they may get caught.
Mike

 

[CG]

Your probably right,,, but still believe that this system makes it less frightening to take the risk when you know, all you get is a little slap on the wrist, are fed, have a library to browse through full of books to pass your time and get a siesta after lunch.

The laws are tough here in the DR regarding drugs, why give folks that break that law a break ?.

 

[La Mariposa]

i am taking about this new prison and american/european prisons in general.
free food, free classes, free tv, free gym, free medical care etc.
wtf is that? and some decent human beings all over the world die from hunger.
i know that prisons in DR are horrible but prison is supposed to be a punishment.

ps silver FOOT?

And tell us: What are we going to do with the criminals?? Kill them !! No problem but we'll have to change the criminal law in a lot of countriesssssssssss

 

[dv8]

i am against death penalty and all for prisons.
education for those willing and work for all. with minimum pay, i am not inhuman. of course the costs of "living" in prison would be deducted from the wages so that effectively there would be no pay. oh, looks like i do not like criminals...
i believe people should pay for their actions. you commit a crime and get caught - you pay for what you did.

 

[MikeFisher]

hey hey,
to get my point straight:
i am absolutely for the death penalty,
and in several forms of cases i would appreciate that a honourable officer gives that son of a %#$% just the shot in the head and saves the gubmin valuable judgement time and imprison costs.
but i am not the Supreme Court of the globe

and the here discussed variation of jail time has nothing to do with "leaving the streets and get a warm and very comfo FREE!!! all inclusive vacation" at a dominican 4 or 5 or 6 stars resort.

they get imprisioned.
they get ruled.
they have to take the classes throuout the day.
they may get educated, at least that should be a point from my side of the view.
they do not get something people outha on the streets wished to have b/c they don't wanna have.
what they don't have is the liberty to walk where they want to,
to talk who they want to,
to lay down when or whith who they want to.
and we are not talking about some days or weeks out of house.
we are talking about several/many years of prison time and the way such should be done/offered/provided/obligated to do so by the gubmin to get 'better' people leaving the numerous prisons than the 'bad' ones who enter them.
as a matter of fact each of them, doesn't matter for what he/she got imprisioned, will be back out on our public streets one lovely sunny caribbean day.
the way that person is prepared for such can /will/heck, for sure will make a huge difference for the ones on the other side of the bars, because they have to live with that person the way that person got thrown back out towards society.
Mike

 

[Lambada]

but prison is supposed to be a punishment.

The underlying principle on which most prison systems in the first world work is that the punishment is the loss of liberty, not the treatment inside the prison itself.

I was discussing mountainannie's article with Ian Worthington, and the Governor of Puerto Plata prison and the DR Regional Director of the Prison Department, last night. And of course I know the old style prison system here due to visiting inmates at PP prison before it became the new style penitentiary. In many ways, inmates have lost a lot of the freedoms they had before: running businesses, doing virtually what they wanted when they wanted to. All that has been changed & there is much more supervision - not always welcome by Dominican prisoners.

What I hadn't realised until last night is that the work of the British Government in funding, advising & implementing training was all as a result of the Higuey fire back in 2005 which killed 134 inmates - I'm sure many who were living here at the time will remember the tragedy. And I also learned that the next prison to adopt the new model will be Higuey itself.

 

[MikeFisher]

of course we remember the fire, Ginnie,
and the fact that authorities for days(maybe til ever) did not even have a clue/accurate inmate list about 'how many inmates' the priosn had when the fire incident occured. and from 2 weeks ago i can tell it is still a 'very busy and unorganized' place. good to hear that this spot is on the 'things to do' list.

totally agree to your post above,
the punishment is about the loss of free daily life,
not about inhumilitating(sp?, sorry) human beeings and force them even more into gang ruled druglord days and pressure them into illegal actions just to survive, specially with authorities/guards involved in that illegal and unhuman pressuremeants by taking their own advantages/making a $$$ living out of it.
Mike

 

[mountainannie]

36 total prisons

yeas,
the stats are impressive,
but due a combination of two factors:
* the above mentioned early stage of the model
* the matter of fact that women in dominican prisons are such a lil minority compared to the males, so there may be also the factor of 'why they been imprisioned', may be for kind of 'crimes' where the returning rate is smaller than on specific other conviction reasons.

i want to see such model to have suxxess over the long term, too.

if i remember right one of the links/stats provided said that 11 out of 36 (not sure on exact number now) prisons are 'redone' to run under the new model.
now i have really no clue about the total number of prisons on the island, male or female visitors.
is that 36 number a total for all islandwide female prisons i guess, right?

are there also available/in process such model prisons for the male prisoners?

i could imagine that for some sort of inmates such model prison may face a bit a tough time to get 'em 'in line'.


36 is the total number of prisons in the DR. I am not going to go shuffling through my notes right now but only three of them are women's prisons. The majority of the prison population is male. The DR is putting this system in place very quickly at the rate of 5 prisons a year so that within 5 years all
and there should of course be a end to the huge privileges of some 'special prisoners' who run from the inside big businesses on the outside, phones and private TV and many 'non usual' amenities available.

interested to look on such and it's progress.
Mike

36 is the total number of prisons in the DR. I am not going to go shuffling through my notes right now but only three of them are women's prisons. The majority of the prison population is male. The DR is putting this system in place very quickly at the rate of 5 prisons a year so that within 5 years all
36 prisons will be under the new system.

There is a completely new system for training the guards.They are neither police nor military but trained specifically as prison guards at a year long course at a school which is housed at Trujillo's old weekend home in San Crisotobal. The guards have a starting salary of about $400 a month which is higher than either police or military and are required to take reeducation courses every year. A portion of them are also expelled every year for failure to perform properly and for misconduct such as taking bribes or abusing prisoners. They are expected to maintain a high level of professionalism and the expectation and hope is that they will develop a core of real professional.

Already the model has attracted attention from visitors from other countries such as Brazil and Haiti. While is true that we are only looking at the first four years of figures, the figures for reconvictions are SO low compared to the rest of the world, that they are really remarkable. The women's figures are even lower, at about 3% but with the men's rate it brings it to 5%.

Part of this success is due to the after care in the parole system where they follow up the prisoners after release. They arrange for meetings with the victims, if the victims are willing (they do this well before release if possible) so that the convict can make amends, if possible) they work with the local priest or pastor, since heretofore the model in this country has been to shun a returning convict, they work to secure him/her work in a field in which they received training in prison and generally work hard for re/entry.

I think a lot of this was impelled by both the fire in the prison in Higuey five years ago but also by the sheer personal magnatism and dedication and charisma of Roberto Santana who is now the head of the Penitenitiary Guard School. He is the retired Chancellor of USAD and has a lot of personal , well, i'll call it "weight of service" which he completely dedicates to this cause.

I do think that this is probably the MOST advanced prison system existing on the planet. Really I do. And, having been a prisoner of conscience myself twice both in England and Puerto Rico, and having friends who have served in the United States, I do have some knowledge of whence I speak.

 

[mountainannie]

Just to also add that there is really a complete loss of freedom here. There are no cell phones. There is almost a complete loss of free time. Every minute is structured and programmed. You are to be where you are told to be, when you are told to be there. Your classes are determined by the staff. You earn the rights to more freedom, a bit more freedom of choice, perhaps the opportunity to teach, by your own behavior.

But there are regular visiting hours every weekend. In the women's prison there is a lovely room with small chairs and games and such for the kids. There is a phone bank in the hall where calls can be made with cards which are sent by the family.

Religious attendance is mandatory. You have your choice of which (Christian at this point) service you wish to attend but you must attend.

You are locked out of your cells all day, except for rest hour of an hour and half every after noon during which time you must be absolutely silent so that others may sleep.

In the evenings, you may watch TV in the cell block. The program is chosen by the staff.

Yes, there is medical care. And dental care. And therapy. And a basketball court. And a chicken coop and a rabbit pen, a bakery, a computer lab, a hairdressing salon... all that.

But absolutely everything is mandatory.

 

[mountainannie]

sorry Mike i messed up quoting your message with my answer so it so it doesn't make sense and can't fix it!

 

[dv8]

In the evenings, you may watch TV in the cell block. The program is chosen by the staff.

Yes, there is medical care. And dental care. And therapy. And a basketball court. And a chicken coop and a rabbit pen, a bakery, a computer lab, a hairdressing salon... all that.

But absolutely everything is mandatory.

is salon mandatory as well? :cheeky::cheeky::cheeky:

this is what i mean here. a prison is to punish. there should be no tv, no entertainment, no visits, no salon, no fancy stuff.
school and work. nothing above that.
prison is not only about the loss of freedom, it is a loss of rights and privileges as well. and no, i do not mean an inmate to lose human rights (although in many cases one wishes that would happen). i am talking about civil rights in here. i don't know about DR or USA but in poland some crimes come with the price of losing the ability to vote, apply for certain jobs (when freed) and so on.

 

[mountainannie]

the salon is school

I do not know about your re arrest rate in Poland.

How are you doing with that?

Do most of your prisoners get out and never return to prison?

 

[mountainannie]

Mujeres pierden su libertad, pero no la dignidad en las c?rceles dominicanas - Hoy Digital

Here is the article in Spanish

 

[MikeFisher]

good info Annie,
don't worry, i don't see it messed up,
at least i "guess" i understand it, ha ha.
DV8,
it would be hard to motivate people to anything if there would not be some kind of lil contrast to the daily work/classes/exercises aso.
and they do not have any TV in their cells, they have fix hours when they are allowed to watch a show or sports event or a film together on a community TV, they can not lay down on their bed and watch telenovelas all day or night long.
those amenities are by far not what could be called luxury.
bakeries, salons aso are not there for their pleasure, they are there to teach them professions so they could get a job at such places afterwards.
a women in prison to get her hair done on daily bases would not bring her much, she would still not be able to walk around somewhere for a paseo and show the whole pueblo what great hair she has, b/c she still is in prison.
that 5 years period to finish sounds very quick,
that means a 100% change of the prison system of a country within a few years, i never heard about any country running such program in such drastic way.
the DR may get a chance to be a model country as an example for others on that field.
doesn't sound bad to me.

and yes,
i am myself pro dead penalty for several crimes,
and i am against wasting much time and money on 'how to do such',
for some i wish there would be still the good ole fashioned way
with a rope and a nice tree in the middle of a Pueblo's Parque.

but i guess times changed since back in the good ole days.

i will follow up news about the new prison system with interest.
Mike

 

[Thandie]

is salon mandatory as well? :cheeky::cheeky::cheeky:

this is what i mean here. a prison is to punish. there should be no tv, no entertainment, no visits, no salon, no fancy stuff.
school and work. nothing above that.

DV8,
Prison is to punish yes... but also to rehabilitate!
Being in prison IS a punishment, because people are deprived from doing what they normally have the freedom to do. It is a loss of personal everyday freedoms.
These criminals cant go to the corner colmado or carwash to talk and dance with friends, or to a birthday party or the beach on weekends, go on a date with a novio, kiss theirr family and children goodnight everyday, etc.

This weekend I am going to 3 different outdoor festivals with friends to dance, listen to music, shop and eat, this morning I picked up some yummy French cheeses, and Italian olives and homemade chocolate chip cookies from a market, and I will watch and read what I want when I want. You take my freedom to do the above away, and trust me that is a punishment....especially the chocolate part LOL

Even animals crave some form of pleasure and social interraction.
To deprive people from that IS INHUMANE.
A bit of TV, board games, artistic expression and education is not fancy stuff. Those are the things that keep prisoners sane and feeling like humans.

Ever see cases of circus animals flipping out?
Why would you want to treat people like that, who you are later going to release back into society? I dont want to live down the street from that released convict. That is and has been a recipe for disaster! And you are actually doing a disservice to the general public.

And regarding your belief that prisoners should have no visits....
Dont you understand the fact that people on the outside can see and talk to prisoners helps keep cases of abuse to a minimum?
Dont you know it is emotionally/psychologically unhealthy and damaging for family and especially children (you dont want a generational cycle of crime and imprisonment) to never see their imprisoned mom or dad? I think you need to read up on some studies and statistics about this issue, so you can be better informed. Hence the 'silver foot in the mouth' comment.

 

[Chirimoya]

Religious attendance is mandatory. You have your choice of which (Christian at this point) service you wish to attend but you must attend.

How do they justify that? What about us Jedi warriors?

 

[cobraboy]

Great idea for first offenders.

Second offenders get something a little more harsh.

Third+ offenders? Maybe they forfeit their right to be among civil society...

 

[SKing]

This is crazy....SALON!!! A Bakery!!! Computer Lab!!!????????
Take those classes and give them to some of the single moms in the cities or the campos who have no skills to do anything but housekeeping. Take that money and get these kids some decent books and some teachers who are qualified to teach. Take the building and house some of these children who are sleeping in abandoned and halfway constructed houses during hurricanes.
My nerves are so plucked with people trying to rehabilitate other people. PUNISH them first and THEN send them for rehabilitation. Sometimes you have got to show people that you are not playin'.
I mean, smuggling COCAINE....for Christ's sake! She should be UNDER the jail.
SHALENA

 

[SKing]

Even animals crave some form of pleasure and social interraction.
To deprive people from that IS INHUMANE.
A bit of TV, board games, artistic expression and education is not fancy stuff. Those are the things that keep prisoners sane and feeling like humans.
As written by Thandie

You know you are my girl but COME ON...if they want a board game, some paper and crayons, let their families buy it and send it to them. I don't object to that, but to use the COUNTRY's money for it......please! It is UNFAIR and a SLAP in the face of every hard-working, law abiding citizen (or resident)
SHALENA

 

[CG]

You all kinda gotta agree with Shalena,
Do you think that the woman is really going to get out of jail and open a bakery or hair salon and hire local people to help run her buisness that she learned while living in relativley comfortable surroundings ?.
All shes going to do is leave the country with out thinking or thanking or helping anybody...