Towards identifying institutional capabilities in the generation of statistics on penitentiary systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

On March 28, representatives of the national statistical offices (NSOs) of Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Mexico met as part of the task force to identify institutional capabilities to generate statistics on penitentiary systems in Latin America and the Caribbean; within the framework of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC.

The event was convened by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of Mexico in coordination with the UNODC-INEGI Centre of Excellence for Statistical Information on Government, Public Security, Victimization and Justice (CoE), in order to advance the work agenda and jointly develop the annotated index that will give direction and structure to this document.

In this context, Salomé Flores Sierra of CoE pointed out that the document seeks to have a regional scope. Therefore, she highlighted the strategic position of the NSOs to achieve a rapprochement with the authorities responsible for the penitentiary systems in the region.

NSOs representatives welcomed the initiative and emphasized the importance of statistics as the basis for the design, implementation and evaluation of public policies that benefit persons deprived of their liberty.