Attorney Nadia Franco, a professor of criminology at the University of Panama, commented that an unequal country with broken families is breeding ground for driving young people into crime and, in most cases, ending up behind bars.
In this sense, the professor explained to the newspaper La Estrella de Panamá that this situation only aggravates the precarious state of the penal system, particularly due to overcrowding in prisons.
Franco pointed out that there are facilities that are operating at 100 or 200 percent of their capacity and some prisons have problems with moisture, fungus and disease.
He also pointed out that while there are some specific rehabilitation programmes, they are insufficient and not accompanied by a labor market reintegration policy.
“The aim is that both the private company and the state should give these people the opportunity to get a job, and one option would be to introduce a special scheme to ensure this reintegration,” he explained.
He noted that while it is important to increase the budget and improve prison staff training, it is essential to focus efforts on prevention.
In this context, he mentioned the scourge of gangs, a criminal activity that has its roots in social problems.
One of the elements that the teacher highlighted as an advancement in the system is the creation of the victim advocate, a role that did not previously exist.
In a series of reports on the subject published by the newspaper, former National Police chief and former Minister of Public Security Rolando Mirones also expressed the opinion that the country needs a law regulating the prison system and him Autonomy confers character or depends directly on the presidency.
For Mirones, the essence is that the person who entered the system comes out better than what he entered. This means that they have the attitudes and skills to live in society.
“The only thing that allows an inmate to get out of prison better is a system of rehabilitation or qualification to live in society,” he noted.
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