A high-risk inmate for recidivism will be released from prison: "No one can carry out any formal control on him"

BarcelonaEvery day, people who have already served their sentences are released from prison, and it is usually not news, unlike the release this Thursday of an inmate from the Ponent penitentiary center. He was already known in the 80s for his robberies and has spent half his life behind bars. He served time for killing two people, including an officer while fleeing a robbery, and also for shooting a former police officer who died months later. After five months of freedom, he returned to prison for a robbery, and this week he regains his freedom. Now, the staff who have treated him in prison have warned that they see a risk of him reoffending, for reasons including that he has not wanted to follow any treatment program.

The penitentiary center has alerted the Lleida Prosecutor's Office that it sees a "significant risk of new criminal acts," according to sources from the Department of Justice consulted by ARA. For this reason, the public prosecutor's office – which has declined to comment, citing respect for data protection – has asked the Mossos d'Esquadra to keep the man under their radar once he leaves prison. Police sources indicate that it will not be an exhaustive surveillance, and they admit that the law would not allow such control over a person who has already served their sentence. In fact, they point out that the surveillance that the police usually carry out in cases like this focuses on knowing who they are going to live with, in which area they move, and with whom they associate.

"If he is released definitively because he has served his sentence, no one can formally control him. There are no legal prevention resources," warns Antonio Andrés Pueyo, professor of psychology and criminology at the University of Barcelona (UB), who adds that police surveillance will be limited to "discreet monitoring." The social educator from Lledoners prison and delegate for Iac-Catac agrees: "No one is above the law and the sentence length it dictates. We cannot keep him locked up indefinitely, but there is a security element that allows us to warn the Mossos".

The Ponent prison has followed the common procedure in all Catalan prisons when an inmate is expected to be released, in whom the psychologists, educators, and other workers who have treated him see a risk of recidivism. On Thursday, March 26, the Department of Justice sent an report to the Lleida Prosecutor's Office on the penitentiary situation of the inmate who will be released this Thursday, as reported by La Vanguardia and the work that had been done to prepare his release from prison. In fact, since 2009, Justice and the Prosecutor's Office have shared a protocol for prisons to inform the public ministry when they anticipate the release of a prisoner in whom there is a risk of recidivism. At the same time, the Prosecutor's Office usually sends instructions to the Mossos so that they have that person under their radar.

What do they focus on?

A prison psychologist adds in statements to ARA that six months before a high-risk release, all professionals treating the inmate draw up a joint report on their situation. The treatment staff relies mainly on the RisCanvi algorithm and among the risk factors they consider are remorse for the crime, family or social ties, and drug use, among others.

The same psychologist states that most inmates agree to undergo treatment programs, and that in many cases obtaining permits is an incentive because if they do not follow any treatment, they cannot access them. However, there are isolated cases where they refuse. An educator from another prison center also explains: "The good thing is that they are the minority, but unfortunately there are times that no matter how much effort you put in, nothing can be done."

What will make them reoffend or not?

The fact of not wanting to undergo any prison treatment "dynamites the risk" of recidivism, warns the professor at UB Antonio Andrés Pueyo. In a case like this, he assures that "it is easier for him to change spontaneously [and decide not to commit crimes anymore] than for them to undergo treatment".

Pueyo points out that in the case of the man who will be released on Thursday, "the enormous history of serious crimes" is already in itself an indicator of the risk of recidivism. Starting from this situation, he points out three elements that can influence: his community environment (if he has a job, family...), if he decides to "desist" and not re-offend, and his state of health, which "can be a protective factor". That is to say, an illness would make it less likely that he would return to robberies, "a crime typical of young people".