El desempeño penal y el régimen abierto en las regiones Capital y Andina de Venezuela, 1981-2005. (Penal performance in open prisons in the Capital and Andean regions of Venezuela, 1981-2005.)

Abstract

The penal performance of offenders assigned to halfway houses is examined for a sample of 1,253 residents between 1981 and 2005 in the Capital and Andean Regions of Venezuela. Contrary to the notion of progression outlined in prison legislation, only 12% of residents had been on work release prior to joining the halfway house, and residents had served an average of 55% of their sentence (considerably more than the 33% required by the guidelines). A request to revoke the assignment to the halfway house was filed in 34% of cases. The failure rate was significantly higher following the implementation of the Organic Criminal Procedure Code in 1999, and also showed marked variation between Community Treatment Centers