HomeNewsBriefColombia Houses Prisoners in Bogota Park Due to Overcrowding
BRIEF

Colombia Houses Prisoners in Bogota Park Due to Overcrowding

COLOMBIA / 11 SEP 2014 BY KYRA GURNEY EN

Close to 70 prisoners are being held in a park in Bogota, underscoring both the unsustainable levels of overcrowding in Colombia's detention centers and the government's failure to provide adequate solutions.

The prisoners have been housed in the park for a few months, since there are no spaces for them in the nearby La Granja detention center in western Bogota's Engativa neighborhood, reported El Tiempo. Some of the inmates are living in tents their families purchased, while others sleep outside, reported RCN. According to El Tiempo, those who can afford it pay to use a bathroom in a nearby restaurant, while the others are forced to relieve themselves in bottles and bags they find in the park.

Both male and female prisoners are reportedly being held in the park, including individuals arrested for armed robbery, homicide and rape. They are watched 24 hours a day by metropolitan police officers.

Bogota Government Secretary Hugo Zarrate said the inmates would soon be transferred to the district prison, but the process of opening up spaces in the detention center is expected to take another three weeks.

InSight Crime Analysis

Like many countries in Latin America, Colombia has a serious problem with overpopulated prisons. Colombia's prisons are on average around 55 percent over capacity. This figure was even higher before the country released thousands of inmates earlier this year in an attempt to reduce overcrowding. According to El Tiempo, the detention center in La Granja -- where the prisoners in the park should have been housed -- is one of the worst in this regard, and was 255 percent over capacity in 2013.

In addition to releasing prisoners, Colombia has also modified its penal code to encourage alternatives to prison time, although this measure has been criticized for leading to high levels of impunity.

SEE ALSO: Colombia News and Profiles

In the past, Colombian authorities have used other unusual locations to house prisoners, including boats and military battalions. Following his capture in 2007, Colombian drug trafficker Diego Montoya Sanchez, alias "Don Diego," was held in a ship in the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by warships, submarines, and satellites to prevent his cronies from attempting to free him.     

Aside from the obvious safety and human rights issues inherent in housing prisoners in a city park, the current situation also highlights the government's failure to provide sustainable solutions to prison overcrowding. Measures like releasing prisoners early are only temporary fixes, and if the current peace processes between Colombia's government and the country's main rebel groups result in agreements, Colombia will likely have to contend with a new flood of prisoners with nowhere to put them. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 26 MAY 2022

Until his death, Gentil Duarte was the most-wanted man in Colombia and one of South America's leading drug traffickers.

COLOMBIA / 17 NOV 2021

As Colombia and Nicaragua continue battling over fishing rights and policing around the Caribbean archipelago of San Andrés, its waters…

COLOMBIA / 23 AUG 2021

The death of a top guerrilla commander in southern Colombia has unveiled an all-too-familiar situation: the leaders of criminal groups…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.