BETWEEN THE NORM AND IMPRISONMENT: HUMAN RIGHTS, BED SHORTAGE, AND OVERCROWDING IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT PRISON SYSTEM

Abstract

This article examines the shortage of prison places and overcrowding in the Federal District prison system from a human-rights perspective. It adopts a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach based on literature review and documentary analysis of legislation, case law, international standards and administrative records. According to the 19th SISDEPEN reporting cycle, on 31 December 2025 the Federal District held 16,943 people in physical cells designed for 10,673, a shortage of 6,270 places and an estimated occupancy rate of 158.7%. The article argues that this imbalance materially intensifies punishment and undermines health, hygiene, safety, education, work, legal assistance and individualised treatment. Although additional infrastructure may be required, construction alone cannot resolve a crisis generated by accumulated criminal, procedural and administrative decisions. Sustainable responses depend on capacity limits, qualified control over admissions, periodic review of detention, timely sentence-enforcement decisions, properly supervised non-custodial measures, adequately scaled services and data-based interinstitutional governance. Overcrowding must therefore be understood not as an exceptional accident, but as a condition that becomes embedded in ordinary management when institutions operate permanently above lawful capacity.