The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, inaugurated on Thursday the comprehensive reform of the El Dueso Penitentiary Center, in Santoña, of which he highlighted his “versatility” to adapt “to the evolution and profound changes of penitentiary legislation”, until becoming the second oldest functioning center in the country.
Grande-Marlaska recalled the ability of El Dueso to survive other buildings of more recent construction, which were replaced by new establishments “since it cannot be restructured or adapted effectively to modern needs and requirements”, and praised its initial configuration. “It has shown that the breadth of the spaces does not conflict with security and facilitates opportunities from the treatment point of view,” he added.
The minister has toured the renovated buildings in the intervention, begun in 2022, which has involved an investment of 16.5 million euros. The project, designed to update the facilities, strengthen the living conditions, recover spaces for treatment and improve energy efficiency, has included a remodeling of the main module, in which the cells have been intervened to expand and equip them with the usual ones in the newly created penitentiaries.
On the other hand, an integral rehabilitation of two buildings has been carried out: one of them will house the library, educational and computer rooms, as well as spaces for offices and the teachers’ room; the other, diaphanous, is designed for multipurpose use and to house acts of greater assistance. In addition, in the women's module, an expansion has been carried out with facilities oriented to training activities.
The opening ceremony was attended by the General Secretary of Penitentiary Institutions, Ángel Luis Ortiz, and the President of the Society of Penitentiary Infrastructures and Equipment and State Security (SIEPSE), Sofía Hernanz.
Among other authorities, the delegation of the Government in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego; the Councilor for the Presidency, Justice, Security and Administrative Simplification of the Government of Cantabria, Isabel Urrutia; the Director General of Criminal Execution and Social Reintegration, Miguel Ángel Vicente; the Mayor of Santoña, Jesús Gullart; and the director of the penitentiary center, Francisco Javier García, have also attended.
CONSERVATION OF A SINGULAR HERITAGE
The Secretary General of Penitentiary Institutions highlighted in his speech the uniqueness of the facilities, the location of El Dueso and the conservation effort that has been made.
The reform has not only meant a modernization and remodeling of the spaces of the penitentiary center, but has been carried out respecting the exterior aspect and the structure of the buildings of historical character and seeking the maintenance of the architectural elements of a penitentiary center built at the beginning of the 20th century.
On the other hand, renewable energy sources have been included, such as a photovoltaic panel installation intended for the production of electricity for self-consumption. In this regard, the president of SIEPSE has stressed that the reform represents “a firm step towards modernization, combining innovation, efficiency and respect for the historical heritage”. “A special reform for a special center,” he concluded.
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