There are 54 prisons in Bolivia which incarcerated 16,613 people as of March 2017[update].[1] Approximately 70% of prisoners have yet to receive their sentences, and are either awaiting trial, or presently on trial.[1]
The prisons are managed by the Penitentiary Regime Directorate (Spanish: Dirección de Régimen Penintenciario). There are 17 prisons in departmental capital cities (including their metropolitan regions) and 36 provincial prisons. The Defensor del Pueblo consider pre-trial detainees as people deprived of their right to liberty.[2] The prison population is growing rapidly; it was previously around 8,700 people as of 2010. Overcrowding is at a serious level, with the total prison population at three times the capacity of the prisons.[2] An investigative survey by the Defensor del Pueblo of 20 rural prisons found that they lack the basic infrastructure necessary to function humanely.[2] Due to the overcrowding of prisons in Bolivia and as part of a program that aims to spread literacy, inmates have now access to a small library where they can read books to reduce their jail time.[3]
Urban prisons include San Pedro Prison and Chonchocoro Prison in La Paz, and San Sebastian Prison in Cochabamba and Palmasola Prison in Santa Cruz.
Prison
City
Department
Date founded[4]
San Pedro Prison
La Paz
La Paz
1895
Chonchocoro Prison
La Paz
La Paz
1992
Miraflores Women's Prison
La Paz
La Paz
1997
Obrajes Women's Prison
La Paz
La Paz
1957
Qalauma Juvenile Center
Viacha
La Paz
2011
San Sebastian Prison
Cochabamba
Cochabamba
1935
San Antonio Prison
Cochabamba
Cochabamba
1988
El Abra
Cochabamba
Cochabamba
1999
San Pablo Prison (Quillacollo)
Quillacollo
Cochabamba
San Pedro Prison (Sacaba)
Sacaba
Cochabamba
Palmasola Prison
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santa Cruz
1989
Villa Busch prison
Cobija
Pando
2002
Mocoví Prison
Trinidad
Beni
1994
Morros Blancos Prison
Tarija
Tarija
1990
San Roque
Sucre
Chuquisaca
1900
Cantumarca
Potosí
Potosí
2001
San Pedro Prison (Oruro)
Oruro
Oruro
1940
^ ab"Justicia informa que presos en cárceles suman 16.613, la cantidad más elevada hasta la fecha". Agencia de Noticias Fides. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
^ abc"Cerca del 75% de los internos de las cárceles no tiene sentiencia". La Razón. La Paz. 20 September 2010. pp. A4-6.
^Machicao, Monica (2022-05-03). "Pages for pardons? In Bolivia, inmates can cut jail time by reading". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
^"16 cárceles de 19 que hay en el país soportan el hacinamiento". Página Siete. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
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