Do microcosmo prisional ao macrocosmo social: um olhar sobre o sistema carcerário brasileiro

Abstract

The problems faced by the prison system have been dragging on for years. In view of this, the effectiveness of the custodial sentence for the social reintegration of the inmate has been questioned, which intensified the debates on the subject. However, even though the literature has made efforts to study it, there are still many gaps about the possible effect of the quality and modalities of prison management on the recovery of the inmate. Thus, the present study sought to fill this vacuum and, in addition, it also tried to analyze the effectiveness of the prison as an institution of social control, through the rate of police recidivism. The legislation argues that the ultimate purpose of the prison sentence is the social reintegration of the conviction. In this way, the hypothesis intrinsic to the analysis is that former prisoners who have served their entire sentence are less likely to remain in crime after being subjected to prison “treatment” (BRASIL, 1984). Regarding the hypothesis regarding the effect of the quality of the prison establishment on recidivism, the literature pointed out that prisoners held in units with less-than-ideal conditions may develop a feeling of revolt against the system or fear of returning behind bars. Furthermore, the hypothesis regarding the effect of management modalities on police/prison recidivism was based mainly on the model of Hart, Shleifer and Vishny (1997), which advocates a possible cost-quality trade-off in the provision of public services. To test these hypotheses, data from those released from the prison system of Minas Gerais, released in 2014, and monitored for six years were used. The main empirical strategy adopted was the Multilevel Multinomial Logistic Model. The results revealed that the prison sentence has a beneficial effect on the social reintegration of the ex-convict. Regarding the physical and social attributes of the graduate, few variables showed a consistent and statistically significant relationship with recidivism, among them religion. On the other hand, the criminal profile of ex-convict to be an important factor signaled in explaining her permanence in the world of crime. Proxies related to prison quality had no effect on recidivism. However, it was found that graduates from units that had an exclusive place for conjugal visits, a work shop and a doctor's office reported lower chances of police recidivism and of dying as victims of homicide. Finally, empirical evidence has shown that ex-inmates of private prisons are less likely to reoffend compared to those released from public units.