WILLEMSTAD - The Curacao Detention and Correction Center (SDKK) will continue, albeit in as few cases as possible, to impose penalties on prisoners by refusing visits. This practice was criticized in the report 'Daily Program and Care at the Curacao Detention and Correction Center' by the Council for Law Enforcement.
The Council's recommendation to immediately cease 'withholding a visitation moment' unless the incident or violation is directly related to the visitation moment will be followed as much as possible. Only when no other appropriate sanction can be imposed will this punishment be applied.
The Minister of Justice, Shalten Hato, stated in a letter to the Parliament that there are currently no usable disciplinary cells for the disciplinary treatment of detainees. He explained that the ground floor of the extra secure section has been taken out of service at the direction of the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). This limits the possibilities for disciplinary measures, except for withholding a visitation moment.
To minimize disciplinary penalties, a new approach called 'motivational treatment' will be introduced in the prison in the short term. Hato explains that good behavior will be rewarded with this method, and unwanted behavior corrected. "Although motivational treatment has a more empathetic and collaborative approach to behavioral change, this does not mean that serious undesirable behavior goes unpunished," said the minister.
The exact date when the prison will implement the new approach is not disclosed.