According to data included in an Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) report, on average, 72% of inmates in the Dominican Republic jails between 1999 and 2017 had not been tried and convicted but being held in custody on remand. This is significantly higher than the regional average of 44% for the same time period. Out of the 24 countries in the region, the Dominican Republic shared third place with Bolivia with the highest percentages being Paraguay with 78% and Haiti with 79%.
The report says that despite penal reform that is meant to speed up trials, the data suggests that the chronic delays in court proceedings are still increasing. According to the Attorney General’s office as of 31 August 2018, of the 26,286 persons in jail some 60.3% were in preventive custody and the rest had been convicted.
The IDB report, “Better Spending for Better Lives” (Mejor Gasto para Mejores Vidas) highlights three reasons for the overwhelming number of preventive custody decision: either there was sufficient evidence that the accused could cause harm or damage to the community, was a flight risk or would interfere with the investigation. However, the report suggests that many judges in Latin America apply more subjective reasons for remanding custody suspects, rather than using the clear criteria outlined above.
The report also examined the amount of money each country is spending on the police, prisons and he justice system and points out that while nations such as Argentina and Jamaica spend more on the police, Brazil and he Dominican Republic spend more on the Judicial system.
The report concludes that the region should prioritize limited jail space and the imposition of long sentences should be reserved for the serious criminals and that alternative sanctions for the non violent criminals should be considered. If the prison population continued to increase at the current rate of 8% a year, by 2030 there would be nearly 3.4 million in jail in the region, which would cost at least US$3.4 million more than in 2014.
Read more:
Diario Libre
IADB
Prison Studies
2 October 2018
