On April 22, the editor-in-chief of PERFIL transmitted to me a request from Jorge Fontevecchia: that the newspaper’s readers’ ombudsman investigate whether a complaint from the head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Jorge Macri, in relation to a note published in the Police section, had substance and deserved an intervention from the ombudsman.
This is the article “Escapes in CABA: in twenty days 19 prisoners escaped and there are still twelve convicts at large”, included on page 50 of the edition of Sunday, April 21 (Escapes in CABA: in twenty days 19 prisoners escaped and There are still twelve convicts at large). Based on what was transmitted to this ombudsman, Mr. Macri considered that the note was “full of errors,” according to Fontevecchia.
As is usual in these cases, the ombudsman’s office asked for explanations from the person responsible for the area, who conveyed the concern to the spokesperson for the head of government and sent me his response and that of the spokesperson): According to the spokesperson:
Authoritarians don’t like this
The practice of professional and critical journalism is a fundamental pillar of democracy. That is why it bothers those who believe they are the owners of the truth.
“1. At the head of the note it is stated: ‘In just twenty days, the number of escaped prisoners reached half the number of escapees registered during the last year. From March 31 to April 20, 19 detainees escaped, while throughout 2023 there were a total of 41 escapes.’
”The first mistake is that they mix leaks with leaks. It is one thing to talk about escapes (facts) and another about escapees (people). In 2023 there were 41 escapes (leaks, events, not escaped people). In this first quarter there were 10 escapes (facts, not number of prisoners).
“2. The title is wrong: ’19 prisoners escaped in twenty days and there are still twelve convicts at large.’
”Not 19 but 13 escaped. Breakdown:
”March 31: San Telmo. 7 escape. In the note they said that 11 left.
”April 1: Balvanera. They escape 2.️
”April 8: Caballito. 2 escape. In the note they say that 4 left Caballito.
”April 25: Urquiza. 2 escape.
“3. There are 11 remaining fugitives. In the note they say there are 12.
The editor-in-chief of Policiales responds: “First of all, I maintain that the numbers that are in the note are those that were opportunely passed on by the City Police, who were even asked if the escapees were 19 and the fugitives were 12. They , the sum of escaped prisoners does not include those recaptured, and it is erroneous and whimsical because the case for escape begins from the moment in which a detainee leaves his place of detention beyond the place where he is later caught (two blocks, ten kilometers or in the police station guard). Another point is that I asked for access to the leak reports to corroborate the data in the response and so far I have had no response. The truth is that it seems strange to me that they refute those numbers when, for example, Noticias magazine, in the same weekend’s edition, also points out that 19 prisoners escaped. Regarding the data of the 41 escapes, it may be that I misunderstood the message and took it as true that there were 41 escaped prisoners in 2023 and not 41 escapes.
Conclusions. When a journalistic piece includes specific figures, they must be verified and supported by reliable sources. Otherwise, the veracity of the data may be subject to question. The clarifications made by Nieva to this ombudsman seem satisfactory to me because they are supported by official reports (the City Police); The differences in figures tend to confuse, that is correct, and perhaps that is why the anger of the Head of Government of the City is legitimate.
In truth, what is involved in this case is a minimal part of the conflict that has been developing for a long time between the CABA Government, on which the police stations in which common prisoners are housed, without the necessary resources, depend, to make up for the lack of positive responses from the Federal Penitentiary Service. The lack of space in the SPF prisons is, ultimately, the main cause of the jurisdictional conflict with the City government, which lacks the power to try and sentence those who commit crimes in its jurisdiction. It is the Ordinary Justice that has criminal responsibility and it is the SPF that should have the resources to house inmates awaiting their sentences.