The Escuela Industrial para Mujeres (''Industrial School for Women'') is a women's prison in

Vega Alta, Puerto Rico Vega Alta () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico. Vega Alta is on the northern coast of the island, north of Morovis and Corozal; east of Vega Baja; and west of Dorado with an area of . Vega Alta is subdivided into seven barrios and Ve ...

. The facility has an official capacity of 471 inmates, and opened in 1954. There were 420 women incarcerated in 2015; 97 were imprisoned for controlled substances violations and another 97 for property crimes. At least 257 inmates had no criminal record prior to the conviction for which they were incarcerated. In 2012 federal judge Daniel R. Domínguez for the

United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citations, D.P.R.; es, Tribunal del Distrito de Puerto Rico) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is ...

allowed an inmates' suit to go forward. The inmates sought damages from an incident where more masculine prisoners were segregated, herded into a visitation area, and taunted and threatened for days. In a 2009 paper, researchers interviewed inmates and found that the hospital facilities lacked hot water and air conditioning, and provided one bathroom for between 20 and 25 inmates. Inmates with diverse conditions, including mental illness, hepatitis, and HIV could not access treatment. The prison was failing to offer court-ordered programs, leaving some inmates in technical violation of the requirements of their sentences.

References

{{coord, 18.412195, -66.313701, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark Prisons in Puerto Rico Women's prisons in the United States 1954 establishments in Puerto Rico Women in Puerto Rico Vega Alta, Puerto Rico Government buildings completed in 1954