The Communist Pary’s offical parliamentary request, that a new prison be built in the Algarve, has been approved.With the abstention of the Social Democratic Party MPs, all the political groups agreed that a new prison, to be built in Messines, was a good thing and somewhat overdue.
The land for the new prison was purchased by the State in the 1980s when a prison with a women's wing was planned. The option was this, or to turn Olhão Prison in a women-only establishment but no final decision was made in over three decades.
According to the Communist Party (PCP), "this initiative is the result of a series of visits by delegations from the PCP with MPs from the Portuguese and European parliaments. The group looked at the existing prisons in the Algarve region (Faro, Silves and Olhão), prisoner conditions and the work of prison guards and reflected on the need for rehabilitation and modernisation of the prison infrastructure in the Algarve region."
According to the Communist Party (PCP), "this initiative is the result of a series of visits by delegations from the PCP with MPs from the Portuguese and European parliaments. The group looked at the existing prisons in the Algarve region (Faro, Silves and Olhão), prisoner conditions and the work of prison guards and reflected on the need for rehabilitation and modernisation of the prison infrastructure in the Algarve region."
A report into the region’s prisons, published in 2017, analysed the number of inmates from the region and overcrowding. A prison with 600 places was recommended and this is what will be built.
