The city of Buenos Aires will begin housing detainees in containers to expand their capacity in police stations and transitional detention centers, which are overcrowded.
The announcement was made this Friday (3) by the mayor of Buenos Aires, Jorge Macri, after four prisoner escapes from security establishments were recorded in April alone.
“Modules were built to generate breathing space until the detainees are taken to the penitentiary service”, said the Mayor of Buenos Aires about the containers, qualifying the initiative as “physical improvements”.
In total, 19 containers will be within the physical limits of three police stations, protected by existing walls and fences, expanding the city's temporary detention capacity by 300 places.
Alongside Javier Milei's security minister, Patricia Bullrich, Macri said he inherited the overcrowding of police stations and transitional detention centers from the previous government. According to him, the number of prisoners in the city jumped from 60 in 2020 to more than 2000 in 2024.
According to the city hall, the number of detainees “largely” exceeds the available places and 20% of the detainees, having already been convicted, should be in federal penitentiaries.
“We will not stop arresting criminals in the city of Buenos Aires”, assured Macri, attributing the overcrowding to “a more operative police force”. According to Buenos Aires city hall, around 80 people are arrested every day in the capital.
To alleviate the system, the mayor also said that he will make two thousand electronic ankle bracelets available to the courts to enable less dangerous prisoners to be kept under house arrest.
He also stated that he will move forward with the deportation of “illegal foreigners”, as 340 detainees, some even convicted, are not Argentines. “It makes no sense for Argentina to spend resources on someone who comes to commit crimes,” said Macri.
According to the city hall, the objective is for the three measures – modules, electronic ankle monitors and deportations – to be incorporated in the next 90 days, freeing up at least 600 places in police stations and transitional detention centers.
The announcement comes after four escapes from security establishments were recorded in April alone. Since the beginning of the year, 19 prisoners have escaped from police stations and transitional prison centers. In 2023, the total number of fugitives reached 41.
Source: CNN Brasil
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