What Santiago’s New Maximum Security Prison Should Look Like (and How It Could Affect Neighbors)

The new “home” of the leaders of the organized crime which operate in Chile. This is the goal of the new maximum security prison announced by President Gabriel Boric, which should be ready before the end of his government, in 2026.

When the controversial construction was first announced, the area in which the infrastructure would be built had not yet been chosen. However, a few days later, he Justice Ministry Luis Cordero, confirmed that the municipality of Santiago was established as the best option.

And it exists a large plot of land available between Santiago 1 and the Gendarmerie offices which would allow for a sort of “penitentiary district” to concentrate surveillance on a single sector.

But what should be the plans for this new prison that will house dangerous criminals? How might this affect community residents? This is an expert analysis.

The government explained that The model that this new prison for high-risk prisoners will follow will be European in style, the same as that implemented in the special high-security penitentiary establishment (Repas).

This latter prison has recently been renovated with better technology to prevent the escape of dangerous criminals. In 2023, a police mutiny was recorded and, in addition, a judge authorized four prisoners, including two members of the Aragua train, to communicate with their relatives abroad.

“Unfortunately, Repas did not provide the breadth, which is why the new high-security prison must offer guarantees that its prisoners cannot continue to commit crimes.” “, he says The third Pablo Allard, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Art of the Development University .

And these are not just any prisoners, but “they are the most dangerous not only in Chile, but on the entire continent, because they are gang leaders like Tren de Aragua, Los Pulpos, etc.”

This is why the academic stressed the importance of the new design having “a materiality that prevents vandalism that sanitary facilities or beds, for example, cannot be used as elements to provoke a riot.

“On another sidehave walls and safety barriers which not only prevent tunnels or leaks, but also a series of security perimeters. And most importantly, safety signal inhibitors to prevent inmates from using cell phones if they brought them.

Furthermore, regarding any visits they may receive, “Whether it is through booths equipped with cameras and microphones, and not through direct contact where prohibited items can be exchanged.”

The mayor of Santiago Irací Hassler was one of the first opponents of the construction of the high-security prison in her municipality. And the region already has the largest prison complex in Chile, so a new facility “could cause irreparable damage to the municipality.”

Furthermore, the advisor added that The project must be built outside urban centres, because “that’s what urban planning experts say.” that prisons should not be built in places that concentrate the largest population and that are central spaces for our city.

Architect and Dean Allard tells LT What “There is a dilemma, because although the operational view point has all the logic that this new safety card has been associated with Santiago 1, the problem is that it is a barrio where you do not have the minimum safety conditions for neighbors”.

The expert stressed that the gendarmerie and the carabinieri have “quite restricted their scope of action” and that, around Santiago 1, there are irregularities, such as “the baseball players”, who are “henchmen of the gang leaders who, through the wall, they throw cell phones and weapons, among other objects, to be able to use them inside the prison.

Furthermore, The presence of an additional correctional facility could affect the value of nearby properties. For Allard, “for the most part, this handicap has already been internalized in the environment of Santiago 1 prison.” This will have the effect of deterring plans for urban regeneration and repopulation of the area.

“I think that this is the main contradiction of the government, namely that “By giving a signal that is, in my opinion, improvised and insufficient, we end up wasting decades of public investment intended to regenerate a sector once stigmatized as ‘the seafront of the poor’.”

The architect remembers the Víctor Jara Park or the line 6 of the Santiago metro, among other relevant works, which had “exploded” new housing projects in the municipality and which could “suffer an irreparable setback if the sector is stigmatized again.”

“If there is no other option, as the Minister of Justice said, we must ensure that the safety conditions of residents will improve.” and that this will not increase the risk to them.