Quintana Roo Prisons Add Digital Visit Booking and Family Spaces

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Prisons across Quintana Roo have added dedicated spaces for incarcerated mothers living with their young children, areas for family and conjugal visits, and a digital appointment system aimed at improving conditions inside the facilities and cutting the long waits families have endured outside the gates, the state’s public security secretary said.

Julio César Gómez Torres, who heads the Public Security Department, said visitors — including elderly people and minors — previously arrived hours in advance to secure the first places in line. Under the new system, they must register ahead of time with the facility’s social work office, where they receive a username to schedule their visit through an online platform and arrive at an assigned time slot.

New Spaces for Education, Health and Training

Gómez Torres said the upgrades include medical areas with observation rooms, classrooms, libraries and videoconference rooms. The videoconference facilities allow courts to hold remote hearings and let inmates schedule video calls with relatives who live outside Quintana Roo.

The prisons have also opened tailoring, sewing and carpentry workshops, along with educational, sports, religious and job-training activities. The secretary said the goal is to reduce long stretches of inactivity and establish scheduled programs that can support the reintegration process.

Gómez Torres acknowledged, however, that infrastructure and staffing needs remain if the model is to be strengthened further. The changes made so far are intended to improve conditions both for inmates and for their families, particularly during visits and in communication with those held inside.