The government delegate in Extremadura, José Luis Quintana, today presided over the events of Merced Day at the Hotel Rio de Badajoz. September 24 is marked in the calendar of Penitentiary Institutions as the date in which the workers of the penitentiary centers celebrate the festivity of Our Lady of La Merced.
In her speech, Quintana expressed her appreciation for the work of the officials and all those who guarantee peaceful coexistence and promote all facets so that when the prisoners regain their freedom they can reintegrate into society. To advance in this task, he pointed out that the Government of Spain is aware of the importance and responsibility of the work they perform and, therefore, “we are putting all our efforts to improve the conditions in which they carry out their work. We are fundamentally concerned to ensure that the staff are fully covered and that they are the right ones for each centre.”
The government delegate recalled that the occupation has been adapted to the capacity of the Pacense center since the public offers of employment and other measures “has allowed us to recover vacant positions and have a practically complete covered staff, although we are aware of the difficulties with medical doctors.”
The Penitentiary Center of Badajoz is one of the centers selected to undertake a series of energy improvement works that will transform the center, with an investment of more than 6 million euros, in its initial phase.
Quintana has also referred to the importance of re-education work to facilitate the social reintegration of people who serve sentences. In this regard, the Prison Centre of Badajoz, through the service of management of penalties and alternative measures, currently manages 1,080 active files of citizens who serve non-custodial sentences, such as work in community service or probation. The government delegate has warned that half of those convicted are for crimes of gender violence and 35% for crimes against road safety. “All this work that you do must be valued and explained to society that a reinserted and reeducated citizen is much better than a repeat offender.”
Finally, Quintana has shown its appreciation to the winners this year. In this edition, the silver medal for Prison Social Merit has fallen to the Adult Personnel Education Center ABRIL for its special dedication and for the realization of important services in the penitentiary field. The bronze medal for Penitentiary Merit to the official of the Corps of Assistants has been for Augusto Duran Vivir, for the provision of relevant services related to his activity; the honorable mentions have been for Bautista Hernández Corbacho and María Rosario Vicente Hernández, while the honorable mention for 25 years of service has been granted to Pedro Mateos Rodríguez and José Luis Rastrollo.