After the fire at the La Victoria Jail on 18 March 2024 that inaugurated the naming of a Police woman for the first time to be in charge of the jail, the media has been following up on the setbacks to the advances made in jail reform in the Dominican Republic. The media reports agree with Roberto Santana, the Dominican expert on jails, that the lack of action by Medina and Abinader governments has led to the reversal gains that had been made in jail management when Roberto Santana was in charge of jail reform programs in the Dominican Republic.
The investigations are parallel to the corruption case against former Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez, known as Operation Medusa. In the advancing of the case in the judiciary, the two closest aids of Rodriguez have been telling on him, saying the actions taken were due to instructions from their boss. Operation Medusa involves the construction of the mega jail in Las Parras to where the inmates from La Victoria Jail should have been transferred in 2020.
Jail expert Roberto Santana advocates for removing police and military officers from being in charge of the jails. Under Santana, young people without military or police training had been trained as specialized jail officers. Gradually, the qualified technicians have been removed from their positions as government officials with decision powers look the other way.
Read more:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
Somos Pueblo
El Dia
1 April 2024