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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Harriet Barber in Bogotá

‘People think prison is for rehabilitation. It is all lies’: could community service work better than jail?

Rows of women stand around a courtyard or leaning on the railings of balconies
Inmates at El Buen Pastor women’s prison in Bogotá, listen to a justice minister explain a change to the law allowing some to complete their sentence with community service. Photograph: Carlos Ortega/EPA-EFE

The baby calls out, reaching towards a metal detector security gate. “Mama, mama,” she says. A prison officer waves her through. It’s visiting time at El Buen Pastor prison, Colombia’s largest detention centre for women. Behind the black door, half a dozen women wait anxiously. Dressed in her best clothes, the mother folds herself around the child.

Inside, the prison is crumbling. Black mould creeps up the walls; broken windows have been replaced with plastic sheets. Inmates say five to six people share cells built for two.

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