Report Finds Data On Criminal Recidivism In Brazil Are Misleading

In Brazil, authorities report that around 70% of people serving prison terms in Brazil re-offend in crime after some time in freedom. A study carried out by Maiara Corrêa, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Violence (NEV) at USP, points out that these data do not correspond to the reality of criminal recidivism and that there is no clarification on how the data are obtained. “This supposed rate of criminal recidivism was accepted and replicated by the population in general, but it always caused a certain strangeness among us researchers and investigators of the issue”, says the researcher.

Inconsistencies in the data
She recalls the first research carried out in Brazil on the subject, by Sérgio Adorno and Eliana Bordini, also from the Núcleo de Estudos da Violência at USP, in 1986: “They followed a group of egressed prisoners for a period of one year, verifying at the end how many of those individuals returned to the penitentiary system or public jails in the State of São Paulo and the rate of penitentiary recidivism found by them at the time was 46%, a much lower percentage than the media had reported. pointing at the time. In other words, 37 years ago, when this first study was carried out, there was already an idea that 70% of the system’s graduates relapsed. However, the study proved that the rate was lower”.

The survey was redone and updated a few years ago by the same professors and the results were not significantly different. The percentages did not exceed 46%, nor did they approach the 70% that are commonly reported.

behind the recurrence
Maiara Corrêa reiterates that the interest in studying issues of the prison system is recent, but that researchers have concerns that go beyond obtaining data. “What has prevailed in the academic field itself is the concern to understand the social factors that would lead to recidivism.” Part of the researcher’s work involves social reintegration actions for prisoners, such as sentence remission policies, which are “those that allow prisoners to reduce part of the custodial sentence for activities carried out in prison, whether formal work, reading, schooling, sports, cultural and leisure activities. The recommendation is one day less on the sentence for every three days of activity carried out”, she points out.

need for incentive
Currently, there is a lack of reliable data on criminal recidivism and on the prison system as a
whole. These data are provided by State bodies and follow transparency criteria, but encounter obstacles along the way. “The reality is that many times when published, they are either already out of date or do not follow the accelerated dynamics of imprisonment in Brazil”, he explains.

She sees the involvement of researchers in data research as a possible improvement for this situation. “There would need to be a firm partnership between universities and state departments to solve this data problem. Universities and research centers exist to develop knowledge and information. When we have open doors and the possibility of carrying out research and accessing information, this neglect and data problems can be solved. We just need incentives, funding and access to certain spaces”, she argues.