The Minister of Government, Dinoska Montalvo, reported that the prison population in Panama has been reduced to around 12 thousand inmates, compared to the 16 thousand prisoners at the beginning of her term. She highlighted that the inmates are divided between those serving their sentences and those in provisional detention while investigations are ongoing. "When I arrived, there were 16 thousand convicted inmates. Today we are at 12 thousand, but it will continue to decrease," the minister stated on Telemetro Reporta. On the other hand, Montalvo emphasized the importance of resocialization programs aimed at providing opportunities for inmates. "It has always been said that the prison system has been a burden for the country and the budget, and that is simply because we have not sought a way to turn it, through productive activities, from a burden into a resource to cover the needs that inmates still have," the minister stated. She also highlighted the creation of industrial facilities within the prisons, where inmates perform various jobs for remuneration. "We are currently in the process of launching this; we have been working on it since last year, started with trial exercises, and began to discover what talent we have within the prison system," she said. Finally, the minister revealed that a new, modern women's correctional center with study areas will be inaugurated on December 18th. She also mentioned that a tender for a prison in the central provinces must be opened this month.
