NCJ Number
80033
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 61 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring/Summer 1981) Pages: 78-81
Date Published
1981
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The implementation of a prison policy of familism is described for Guatemala's Granja Modelo Rehabilitacione Pavon, the country's largest prison for men.
Abstract
The maintenance of intimate family ties is important in Latin America, and this is evident in prison policy at Pavon. Families are permitted to visit inmates daily between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., and transportation by bus from Guatemala City is provided. The prison setting encourages families to conduct economic and social activities as normally as possible within the constraints imposed by the operational requirements of a large penitentiary and jail. Spaces are provided for inmates and their families to operate shops, usually composed of items made by the inmates and their families, including food and trinkets of various types. Families can be seen wandering the grounds and picnicking in the outdoor facilities. Children play on the recreational equipment provided in play areas. Conjugal association occurs in rooms provided for this purpose. Other men's prisons in Guatemala operate similarly, although the women's prison of Santa Teresa near Pavon severely limits male-female contact, largely because of the problems that would be presented by pregnancies among the inmates. Corrections policy views family life as the natural mode of human existence not to be basically disturbed even by incarceration.