Opened facility awaits completion

The  new juvenile detention facility in Pacora officially “opened” on February 1 by  President, Ricardo Martinelli, still has no inmates because of construction problems.

Government Minister, Jorge Ricardo Fabrega said Wednesday June 13 that the  facilities could not be occupied by prisoners because they have found a number of internal problems.

The company in charge of the work has not solved the problems of sewage and gas facilities, which leaves juveniles still packed into in the current over crowded Tocumen center where there was a  recent breakout by 24 inmates. One is still at large.

The Minister said the escapes were due to overcrowding

"Unfortunately we had some setbacks with the construction company and continue to find problems, which has prevented us from  removing minors from other detention centers," Said Fabrega.

Fabrega would not say whether the company doing the work will be penalized for the failures.

On  February 1, Martinelli unveiled a plaque and formally handed over the facilities to Fabrega.

The president praised the new facility and described it as "modern and adequate."

At the event, Security, Minister Raoul Mulino  thanked the construction ompany for its work noting that it had kept its word to complete the work with all technical aspects.

The new Compliance Center for Minors was built over a period of three years, at a cost of $12 million, and has 17 buildings with acapacity for 192 inmates. With locking systems, surveillance cameras, detection devices and fire control.