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30% of all prisoners are held on drugs offences
posted on: Mar 15 2010 10:37 by Royston. Viewed 338 times.
The latest statistics from the prison service make for interesting reading.
About 5,900 men and women imprisoned in the 35 prisons in the Dominican Republic have been charged and convicted for drug trafficking, This is about 30% of a prison population of 19,726.
Whether this reflects an improvement in catching drug traffickers or an increase in popularity of the crime is not discussed in the report.
The relative proportions of other convictions are; murder 5,345 (27.1%), theft 3,945 (20%), rape 1,500 (7.6%), assault and battery 552 (2.8%) and other crimes 2,484. Included in this last heading are threats, forgery, illegal possession of weapons, child abduction, illegal trips, fraud, and traffic law.
According to statistics from the Director General of Prisons, the number of persons detained on drugs offenses, some 4,000 are serving remand (31.7% of the total remand prisoners) and 1,900 have been convicted.
The report notes also that of the total population in custody, there are 12,545 remand prisoners (63.6%) and 7,181 convicted (36.4%).
90.6% of those held or convicted on drugs charges are Dominican and 9.4% are foreigners.
Of the drug related crimes, a disproportionate number of prisoners are women. Just 547 women are imprisoned (2.8%) whereas there are 19,179 men(97.2%). This reflects women's use as "mules" to carry drugs out of the country.
The largest concentration of female prisoners is in the womens correctional and rehabilitation centers at Najayo in San Cristobal, and Rafey in Santiago, which belong to the new model of prison management. Also, several of the traditional prisons have separate enclosures to accommodate women. A total of 15% (2.934) of the prison population is held in the twelve centers of Correction and Rehabilitation and 85% in traditional establishments guarded by the Army and National Police.
The age breakdown in narcotics offenses is; ages 18 to 24, 26.4%, from 25 to 39, 56.2%, from 40 to 59, 16.9%, and more than 60 years, 0.5%.
Two years ago the violation of Law 50-88 on trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs was the third most common cause of incarceration. However, it is currently in first place, almost on a par with murder, the crime for which most people were sent to prison in previous years.
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