Prisoner´s kids get a new centre

ELEVEN under 3 year olds live with their mothers in the female prison in Palma and for this reason a new centre in the capital is under plans to be built especially for the prisoners and their children. Palma city council reached an agreement with the Ministry for the Interior, who, in principle, has agreed to hand over two municipal plots of land on the Levante industrial estate for this female centre. The plot of land is 12'705 square metres and, if all goes ahead as planned, a centre will be built for the female prisoners who are in the last phase of their sentence and have children. The characteristics of the centre have still to be defined, although the philosophy of the project is aimed at providing a less “harder” environment for the youngsters. Currently the Palma prison does have a special section for mothers with under 3 year olds, which has nicer characteristics than the rest of the prison, although the prison services think that it will be more adequate to build a specific infrastructure. The law states that the maximum age for children to be allowed to live in prison with their mothers is 3 years old.