Overview
- The Justice Ministry, which relaunched the long-stalled Arequipa project Thursday, reactivated work frozen since 2021 under the National Prison Decongestion Plan.
- The expansion is funded with more than S/192 million and will lift capacity from 667 to 1,620 by adding 953 housing units.
- As a quick relief move, INPE transferred 30 inmates from Socabaya in Arequipa to the Cochamarca prison in Pasco under the minister’s supervision.
- Plans add new cellblocks along with job-training workshops, a technical education center (CETPRO), health services and upgraded security to support rehabilitation and basic care.
- Socabaya holds about 2,400 inmates in space built for 667, while Peru houses more than 105,000 people in facilities built for about 45,000, and the minister said more prisons and quicker releases will still be needed.