Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Local consequences of the prison policies in state of São Paulo, Brazil: a case study of the town of Itirapina

  • Published:
Crime, Law and Social Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this manuscript is to understand the changes in the prison policies of the State of São Paulo over the last three decades, based on a case study of the town of Itirapina, located in the central region of the state. The state prison policy prioritized decentralization of prisons along with mass incarceration. In the past 25 years, more than 100 new prisons were built in smaller, interior cities west of the capital while the prison population grew by five times. The town of Itirapina was affected by this policy of “prison decentralization”. In Itirapina, two prison facilities were installed at different times, twenty years apart, so the town of Itirapina presents peculiarities in the prison context of the entire country. Therefore it is possible to observe the existence of two prisons established with distinct models and philosophies. Specifically, it is possible to observe that those involved – either directly or indirectly – with prison’s daily life in Itirapina, have different perceptions and relationships with each of the prisons. This analysis points out the changes in São Paulo State incarceration policy directives, in line with the changes that occurred worldwide. The ideal of punishment as social rehabilitation of prisoners fell into decline, giving way to policies of accelerated imprisonment, and the expansion of the prison system into the countryside municipalities. The conclusion presents how the presence of prisons impacts social interactions in these smaller towns and reorders moral values.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A more complete discussion of the scattering of prisons in Brazilian small towns can be seen in Silvestre- [11]; Melo [12]; Godoi [13]; Biondi [14]; Dias e Silvestre [15].

  2. At once recent count from Secretaria de Adminsitração Penitenciária de São Paulo – SAP. Accessed 24 April 2015.

  3. The Law n° 7210 of July 11, 1984 (LEP) guides the Execution of Sentences of Imprisonment in Brazil.

  4. All research conducted in the press archives of Itirapina were made in “Jornal da Região”, since that from late 70s to mid-2000s, this was the only newspaper with uninterrupted circulation in the city, and its publication remains to today.

  5. Year in which the first copies of the newspaper began to be organized in files.

  6. The temporary release of prisoners is granted at certain times of the year and is a right provided under LEP -Law n° 7210 of July 11, 1984 which guides the Execution of Sentences of Imprisonment in Brazil.

  7. According to a study by Goes (1991), the first rebellion that occurred in the State Penitentiary, after the start of tenure of Franco Montoro, was stimulated by agents opposed to the “humanization” policies and was meant to erode them.

  8. In this episode, which occurred in the prison of the 42nd Police Department of São Paulo in 1989, 18 prisoners died from suffocation because they were put together with 33 more inmates, for hours, in a cell with no ventilation, measuring 17 square meters.

  9. This is the official figure released by the government at the time; however, surviving prisoners themselves have stated that the death toll is much higher.

  10. With the whole process of mass incarceration and internalization of prisons, inmates were increasingly sent to prisons far from their hometowns, making their families travel on weekends to visit.

References

  1. Simon, J. (2014). Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America. New York:The New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Zimring, F. E., & Hawkins, G. (1991). The scale of imprisonment. Chicago:University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Garland, D. (2001). The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society. Oxford:Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Garland, D. (1990). Punishment and Modern Society: a study in social theory. Chicago:The University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Simon, J. (1997). Poor Discipline: Parole and the Social Control of the Underclass, 1890–1990. Chicago:University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  6. National Research Council. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and consequences. Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration. Travis, J.; Western, B. and Redburn, S. (Eds). Committee on Law and Justice, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Salla, F. (2007). De Montoro a Lembo: as políticas penitenciárias em São Paulo. Revista de Brasileira de Segurança Pública, 1(1), 72–90.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Campos, M. S. (2013). Drogas e Justiça Criminal em São Paulo: conversações. Sistema Penal & Violência, 1(5), 121–132.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Dias, C. C. N. (2011). Da pulverização Ao monopólio Da violência: expansão e consolidação do primeiro comando Da capital (PCC) no Sistema carcerário paulista. In PhD dissertation in sociology. Sao Paulo: Universidade de Sao Paulo.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Sinhoretto, J., Silvestre, G., & Melo, F. A. L. (2013). O encarceramento em massa em São Paulo. Tempo Social, 1(25), 83–106. doi:10.1590/S0103-20702013000100005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Silvestre, G. (2012). Dias de visita: uma sociologia da punição e das prisões. São Paulo:Alameda.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Melo, F. A. L. (2014). As prisões de São Paulo: Estado e mundo do crime na gestão da “reintegração social”. São Paulo:Alameda.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Godoi, R. (2011). Para uma reflexão sobre efeitos sociais do encarceramento. Revista Brasileira de Segurança Pública, 1(8), 138–154.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Biondi, K. (2010) Junto e Misturado: uma etnografia do PCC, editora terceiro Nome, São Paulo.

  15. Dias, C.; Silvestre, G. (2009) Situação Carcerária no Estado de São Paulo. In: Souza, L. A. F. (Ed): Políticas de Segurança Pública no Estado de São Paulo: situações e perspectivas a partir das pesquisas do Observatório de Segurança Pública da UNESP (pp. 91–105). São Paulo: Cultura Acadêmica.

  16. Brasil Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatísticas (IBGE). http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/. Accessed 25 Jan 2015.

  17. Pratt, J., Brown, D., Brown, M., Hallsworth, S., & Morrison, W. (Eds.) (2005). The New Punitiveness: Trends, theories, perspectives. Cullompton:Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Wacquant, L. (2000). The New “Peculiar Institution”: On the Prison as Surrogate Ghetto. Theoretical Criminology, 4(3), 377–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Wacquant, L. (2001). As prisões da miséria. Rio de Janeiro:Jorge Zahar Editor.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Pires, A. (1998) Aspects, traces et parcours de la rationalité pénale moderne. In: Debuyst, C. Digneffe, F. and Pires, A. (Eds) Histoire des savoirs sur le crime et la peine II (pp. 5–64). Ottawa: De Boeck Université.

  21. Pires, A. (2004). A racionalidade penal moderna, o público e os direitos humanos. Novos Estudos CEBRAP, 1(68), 39–60.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Teixeira, A. (2006). Master’s degree thesis in Sociology. In Do Sujeito de Direito ao Estado de Exceção: o percurso contemporâneo do sistema penitenciário brasileiro. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Brasil Lei de Execução Penal (LEP). Presidência da República. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l7210.htm. Accessed 20 Jan 2015.

  24. Caldeira, T. P. R. (2000). Cidade de Muros: Crime, Segregação e Cidadania em São Paulo. São Paulo:Edusp.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Goés, E. M. (2004). Transição Política e Cotidiano Penitenciário. Historia, 1(23), 219–238.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Brasil Departamento Penitenciário Nacional (DEPEN) - sistema de informação penitenciária – InfoPen - Estatística. Ministério da Justiça. http://portal.mj.gov.br/data/Pages/MJC4D50EDBPTBRNN.htm. Accessed 21 Jan 2015.

  27. Secretaria de Administração Penitenciária – Governo do Estado de São Paulo. (2012)

  28. Foucault, M. (1987). Vigiar e Punir: histórico da violência nas prisões. São Paulo:Martins Fontes.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Elias, N., & Scotson, J. L. (2000). Os estabelecidos e os outsiders. Rio de Janeiro:Jorge Zahar Editor.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Becker, H. (2008) Outsiders – estudos de Sociologia do desvio. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Zahar.

  31. Misse, M. (2008a) Sobre a construção social do crime no Brasil – esboços de uma interpretação In: Misse, M. (Ed): Acusados e acusadores estudos sobre ofensas, acusações e incriminações (pp. 13–32). Rio de Janeiro: Editora Revan.

  32. Foucault, M. (2005). Em defesa da sociedade. São Paulo:Martins Fontes.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology Graduate Program, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil

    Giane Silvestre

  2. Center for the Study of Law & Society, Law School, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Giane Silvestre

Authors
  1. Giane Silvestre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giane Silvestre.

Additional information

This article will present some results from a Master’s degree thesis, which was published as a book with the title: Dias de visita: uma sociologia da punição e das prisões, publisher Alameda, 2012. The book was published only in Portuguese and this article will bring some of the results obtained from the research in English.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Silvestre, G. Local consequences of the prison policies in state of São Paulo, Brazil: a case study of the town of Itirapina. Crime Law Soc Change 65, 269–285 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-015-9583-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-015-9583-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation