On September 23, 2024, the “Ángel Guerra” Social Insertion Center, which depends on the Tahíche Penitentiary Center, held an event in honor of the patron saint of the Penitentiary Institution, Our Lady of Mercy.
The event was attended by various authorities from the islands, including the Deputy Government Delegate in Las Palmas, Ms. Teresa Mayans Vázquez, the Island Director of the AGE, Mr. Pedro Viera Espinosa, the Mayor of Teguise, Ms. Olivia Duque Pérez, and other civil and military authorities.
The ceremony began with a mass officiated by the vicar of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Graciosa, Rev. Juan Carlos Medina Medina. Subsequently, the official ceremony took place, where the Director of the Penitentiary Center and CIS, Mr. Francisco José Baldonedo Iglesias, the Mayor of Teguise and the Deputy Government Delegate gave speeches. The Deputy Delegate closed the event by highlighting the functions of the penitentiary institution in society.
During her speech, the Deputy Delegate highlighted the work of the officials and the recent public employment offers for the institution. The Mayor of Teguise highlighted the importance of the work of the officials in the reintegration of people serving sentences in the center.
The Director of the Center addressed several issues, including the co-responsibility of the Penitentiary Institution with other institutions in the reintegration process; the importance of education in values such as equality, empathy, solidarity, respect and tolerance as forms of prevention; the responsibility of prison officers to comply with the law and the fundamental principles of the legal system, and respect for people serving sentences, their families and the institution's workers, avoiding generating social alarm with news related to the prison world.
Also the fight against the entry of drugs into prison, thanking the intervention of the canine units of the Civil Guard and the Local Police of Tías, and announcing the awarding of its own canine unit for next year and, finally, the treatment programs in prison, highlighting the Mixed UTE to address drug addiction problems.
Finally, the Director thanked the staff and the management team for their work, and congratulated the honorees of this year, including the prison surveillance judge, who received the silver medal for penitentiary social merit, and four officials with honorary mention, in addition to two honorary mentions for 25 years of service in the institution.
