The Argentine Republic is a Federal State with 23 provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. The penitentiary system is divided into three levels of jurisdiction:

• The Federal Penitentiary System (SFP);
• The Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service (SPB);
• The different Provincials Penitentiary Services (SPP).

The SPF holds prisoners for federal crimes e.g. kidnaping, drug trafficking, terrorism and conspiracy. The SPB and the SPP house individuals who live or have committed crimes in the local region.

The Argentinian Observatorio Internacional de Prisiones (OIP) and other organizations, such as the Institute for Criminal Policy Research (ICPS), believe that the official data provided by the Sistema Nacional de Estadísticas sobre la Ejecución de la Pena (SNEEP) does not accurately represent reality of Argentina’s prisons.

Pre-trial prisoners are held at police stations for long periods, a practice that hides the true level of pre-trial prisoners and overcrowding.