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Chile
Index
The penal system also had been standardized since 1930,
coming
under the jurisdiction of the minister of justice. The
system
emphasizes the rehabilitation of the offender as its
primary goal.
The normal prison regime is humane; the degree of
confinement is
reduced progressively throughout the duration of the
prisoner's
sentence and ends, subject to good behavior, in
conditional release
for periods up to 50 percent of the total sentence. The
lengths of
the successive stages in the relaxation of the prison
regime are
varied and are implemented on the basis of semiannual
judicial
review, which takes into account behavior and perceived
progress
toward rehabilitation.
Under the Criminal Code, all persons sentenced for
periods
between sixty-one days and five years are obligated to
work.
Prisoners are remunerated for their work on a rising scale
as they
progress through the penal system and are eligible for the
benefits
of social insurance on the same basis as those in
voluntary
employment. However, a percentage of prisoners' earnings
is
deducted to cover their keep and the maintenance of the
penal
service and as a contribution toward the discharge of
civil
responsibility arising from their offenses. Work can be
either
directly for the state, on contract, or on lease. Examples
of work
for the state include manufacture of such items as road
signs or
automobile license plates, or public road construction and
maintenance. Work on contract to private firms or
individuals is
still carried out within the penal institution, but with
tools and
materials supplied by the contractor. Work on lease
differs
inasmuch as the private contractor is responsible for the
housing
and maintenance of the prisoner in secure conditions.
Prisoners may
also undertake additional discretionary work of a gainful
nature
within certain limitations laid down by the prisons
administration.
There are some 140 penal institutions of various types
with a
capacity for approximately 15,000 inmates. Of these about
sixtyfive are intended to house short-term (sixty-day maximum)
or remand
prisoners; six are intended for long-term prisoners;
twenty-three
are correctional institutions for females and are
supervised by a
Catholic order of nuns; one is an open prison, located on
Isla
Santa María, southwest of Concepción; one is a special
institution
for juvenile offenders; and the remainder house prisoners
serving
sentences of between sixty-one days and five years. These
are
administered by the Gendarmerie, or Judicial Police of
Chile
(Gendarmería de Chile), which reports to the Ministry of
Justice
and numbers approximately 4,000 members.
A combination of social and political factors have
inflated the
prison population relative to its capacity; in 1990 it
exceeded
25,000 inmates. Some 60 percent of these were on remand
awaiting
trial. After the riots of 1980, the military regime was
widely
condemned for crowding 1,800 inmates into Santiago's San
Bernardo
Prison. However, the same institution, designed to hold
800, housed
3,300 inmates during the third quarter of 1990.
Data as of March 1994
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