Inmates Begin Moving to Lavras' New Prison Within 20 Days, Says Polícia Penal
At a press conference, regional director Ana Maria and prison director Éder Alvarenga apologized for the incident with the press at the inauguration and explained transfers, visits and the future of the old facility
Automatically translated from Portuguese. Read the original in Portuguese
The first inmates are expected to arrive at the new Lavras Prison within up to 20 days. The forecast was given this Friday (13) by the regional director of the Polícia Penal (Penal Police) for the 6th Region, Ana Maria, at a press conference with the local press in Lavras, alongside the prison director, Éder Alvarenga. The exact date will not be disclosed, for security reasons.
At the start, Ana Maria apologized, on behalf of the Penitentiary Department and the director, for the misunderstanding at Wednesday's (11) inauguration, when the local press left the ceremony without covering the handover.
Who Will Go to the New Facility
The facility is men-only and has 628 places. The roughly 320 inmates currently held in the old prison, which was built for 120, will be moved there. A Polícia Penal study also identifies detainees with family ties and cases in the Lavras judicial district who were sent to other cities due to lack of space, so they can return, always respecting security criteria.
According to the director, the move was necessary due to safety, unhealthy conditions and the poor state of the current building. "This new prison unit is a model unit across the country, in technology and innovation", she said.
What Is Inside
The prison will have a health area, a school, two libraries and two computer rooms, with a fully automated structure. A cooking vocational workshop, unprecedented in the region, will teach inmates a trade. The Polícia Penal is also considering bringing PrEsp to Lavras, a state program that supports people leaving the prison system.
Visits
Visitor registration continues to take place at the current facility. Outside the new prison, there will be a hall where families can wait for visits. A Family Assistance Center (NAF) in the city center is under study, to avoid travel. Virtual visits remain available. Public transportation to the prison is not the department's responsibility, according to the director.
What Happens to the Old Prison
The current building will become the administrative headquarters of the Regional Directorate, which oversees the units in Lavras, Oliveira, Três Corações, Três Pontas, Boa Esperança, Varginha and Campo Belo.
Shortage of Places
Ana Maria noted that Minas Gerais has more than 73 thousand inmates and a deficit of around 30 thousand places, and that the country has over 970 thousand detainees. A prison of the same model is expected to open in Poços de Caldas in mid-next year.
The full press conference is in the video for this story.
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