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Alternatives to i mprisonment in Portugal. First draft Rome, 29 July 2014. Brief history of prison system. 1974 – everybody released from prison 1996 – serious overcrowding, seemingly coming out of nowhere, reported by Ombudsman
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Alternatives to imprisonment in Portugal First draft Rome, 29 July 2014
Brief history of prison system • 1974 – everybody released from prison • 1996 – serious overcrowding, seemingly coming out of nowhere, reported by Ombudsman • 2001 – political struggle ended by reducing number of inmates and implementing harsher penal regimes • 2007 – law instituting new prison practices and giving new rights to inmates • Since then, securitarian criticism (over schools and sexual abuses) and financial crisis worsened prison conditions and brought harsher staff attitudes
Alternatives to imprisonment • Trial run for home detention with electronic surveillance for remand prisoners (2003-2007) • Success of the experience able to offer home detention and access to work with electronic surveillance to some inmates who request it • Community work, mainly for traffic offences
Other non custodial pretrial measures • Fines (those who cannot afford to pay are allowed to serve days in jail in lieu of payment) • TIR (termo de indentidade e residência) is used to oversee individuals awaiting trial • Several forms for control of individuals awaiting trial, such as reporting to police station weekly or biweekly; house arrest; prohibition of contact with some people
Other non custodial pretrial measures (2) • VIPs can be prohibited from living the country and/or exercising their profession (such as banking or politics)
Other non custodial penalties • Suspended sentences of up to three years • Semi prison (weekends in prison, almost all for traffic offences) • Early release (half time review and 5/6 mandatory release) (depends on TEP – Tribunal de Execução de Penas) • RAI/RAE – open regimes to work inside or outside prison (depends on head of prison system)