The Situation of detained Latin Americans in Catalonia (2011)

Abstract

Catalonia shares its penal code with Spain. However, Catalonia has exclusive competencies in terms of prison policies, and one of the concerns has always been to have in-depth knowledge on the situation and specific needs of the population that is served, in order to adjust the interventions to the greatest extent possible so as to favor social reintegration and reducing incidence. One of the phenomena that have been observed is the rise in the number of foreigners in the prison population. This is the result of the high migratory influx recorded in the first decade of the millennium. The General Directorship of Penitentiary Services of the Department of Justice of Catalonia requested the Center for Judicial Studies and Specialized Training – an autonomous agency dedicated to research and training professionals at the Department of Justice – to carry out this research in order to provide ample and global knowledge on the situation of foreigners in the Catalonian penitentiaries and their outlook, seeking recommendations to help intervene in a more effectual manner. The methodology was rendered complex by the great volume of the data and the different manners and sources information that served in data gathering during 3 years of work (2008 to 2011). A noteworthy theme from the onset was the difficulties observed in social re-integration once the sentence had been served, due to the complexity of the legal framework regulating their stay in Catalonia, and by extension in the Kingdom of Spain.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/rpsp.v3i1.1331