Ponta Delgada Mayor Demands New Prison and More Justice for the Azores
Pedro Nascimento Cabral warns of the urgency for a new prison and criticizes the State's insufficient responses on the islands.
By Catarina Sameiro
••5 min read
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Facade of the Municipal Chamber of Ponta Delgada, a historic building with Portuguese architecture under a blue sky.
The Mayor of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, called for an urgent solution for the Ponta Delgada Prison Establishment and demanded greater state commitment to justice in the Azores, criticizing insufficient responses due to island status.
The Mayor of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, advocated for an urgent response for the Ponta Delgada Prison Establishment and demanded greater state commitment to infrastructure, human resources, and justice services in the Azores, considering that the region's island status cannot justify insufficient public responses.
These positions were expressed at the closing session of the Conference “Human Rights in Prison Establishments: current state in Portugal, reflections and perspectives,” held at the Teatro Micaelense in Ponta Delgada, organized by the Portuguese Judges' Trade Union Association.
Cabral congratulated the organization for the initiative, emphasizing that deprivation of liberty should not mean the loss of human dignity or other fundamental rights.
The situation of the Ponta Delgada Prison Establishment was a primary concern. The mayor referenced Council of Ministers Resolution No. 119/2023, which acknowledges the building as the oldest in the country and unsuitable for expansion or effective renovation. He questioned the delay in implementing a structural solution to ensure dignified conditions for inmates and staff.
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"For decades, the State has known that the Ponta Delgada prison does not meet the minimum requirements to ensure the human dignity of those deprived of their liberty or those who work there! And if the State acknowledges that the building has reached the end of its useful life as an adequate prison establishment, then the question we must ask is very simple: what are we waiting for?"
The Mayor highlighted the consequences of overcrowding and facility limitations on the privacy, dignity, and social reintegration of inmates, as well as on the working conditions of prison guards, social reintegration technicians, psychologists, health professionals, lawyers, and other staff. He argued that the execution of sentences must respect fundamental rights and provide conditions that favor the recovery and reintegration of citizens into society.
Preserving the family ties of Azorean inmates was another central concern. Cabral drew attention to the increased difficulties resulting from transferring inmates to the mainland or other islands, such as travel costs and obstacles to visits, arguing that prison policies must consider these consequences and the specific geographical and social realities of the Azores.
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"When a person is removed from their family not by judicial decision, but by the structural incapacity of the existing prison system in the Azores to accommodate them, we are facing a particularly serious consequence, which is added to the sentence itself."
The intervention also addressed the operational conditions of other essential state services in Ponta Delgada, including courts and the Public Security Police (PSP). Cabral advocated for investment in the maintenance and refurbishment of public buildings to ensure dignified and safe facilities.
Regarding the PSP, he expressed concern about the insufficient number of police officers in the Azores, arguing that available human resources should match the population's security needs.
In the justice sector, Cabral emphasized the need to strengthen court human resources, particularly noting the shortage of judicial staff and the workload of magistrates. He also advocated for a recruitment and retention policy that considers the specific challenges of the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
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"We cannot accept that insularity be used, once again, as a justification for a lesser response capacity. It must work precisely the opposite way!"
The creation of an Educational Tutelary Center in the Azores was also identified as a need. The mayor warned about the consequences of placing young people subject to educational measures in facilities on the mainland, far from their families and communities. He believes the region should have an adequate response that allows for specialized support while preserving family and community ties, essential for accountability and reintegration.
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"There are rights that cannot depend on profitability, and there are state duties that cannot be conditioned by the price it costs to fulfill them."
Cabral argued that national public policies must recognize the particularities of the Azores and ensure effective equality in access to justice and state services, as insularity and ultra-peripherality require responses tailored to the regional reality.
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"Portugal does not end at its continental shelf and, naturally, it does not end in Lisbon either. Portugal is here. It is in this city, it is on this island, it is in this archipelago."
The mayor concluded by advocating for concrete measures from the state, based on planning, investment, and execution, to ensure dignified conditions in the prison system, better resources for justice professionals, and adequate responses to the needs of the citizens of the Azores.
The Conference “Human Rights in Prison Establishments: current state in Portugal, reflections and perspectives” brought together magistrates, lawyers, and specialists, providing a space for reflection and debate on the protection of fundamental rights of persons deprived of liberty and the challenges facing the Portuguese prison system.
