The Decrease of Youth Incarceration in Brazil – New Sensibilities? A Framework from the Sociology of Violence
Dr Erica Babini, Catholic University of Pernambuco and the University of Pernambuco
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Abstract
In recent years, Brazil has witnessed a substantial decline in the number of adolescents subjected to deprivation of liberty. Recent data from the CNJ and FBSP indicates that following the Habeas Corpus Coletivo 143.988/ES ruling in 2018, which sought to impose limitations on the capacity of detention centres, there was a precipitous decline in the rate of detention, reaching an almost 50% decrease between 2018 and 2021.
Preliminary observations suggest that this phenomenon may be indicative of advancement in the implementation of the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA) and SINASE. However, the findings of qualitative research suggest an alternative scenario: The primary hypothesis under consideration is that there has been an alteration in police conduct, characterised by pervasive mistrust of the judicial system and the implementation of informal forms of retribution, including torture. This phenomenon is concomitant with the rise in youth lethality by police and the increasing involvement of young people in violent criminal activities in gangs, which in turn leads to an increase in youth mortality.
From the perspective of the sociology of violence and Southern criminology, this reduction does not represent a "new sensibility" in juvenile justice, but rather the deepening of a historical pattern: the exclusion and criminalisation of black and poor youth in a country whose social formation is marked by slavery, structural racism and unofficial punishment practices.
BIO
Erica Babini is a lecturer and researcher at the Catholic University of Pernambuco and the University of Pernambuco (UPE), primarily working in the areas of Criminology, Criminal Law, and Child and Adolescent Law, with a focus on the juvenile justice system. She coordinated the Postgraduate Program in Law at the Catholic University of Pernambuco and was the State Coordinator of the Brazilian Institute of Criminal Science. She is also a researcher at the Rejucrim Study Group - Network of Studies in Criminology and Youth. Erica holds a PhD from the Federal University of Pernambuco (2014) and a Master's from the same institution (2010). Graduated in Law from the Catholic University of Pernambuco (2006).