Organizações criminosas nas prisões da Bahia: um estudo sob a ótica dos protagonistas da gestão prisional na RMS

Abstract

Based on a literature review of articles and publications from open sources related to criminal organizations and prisons, as well as documents and data from the Brazilian National Penitentiary Department (DEPEN) Information System and the Bahia State Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration and Resocialization (SEAP), this study characterizes the Bahia Prison System. To do so, it analyzes its inaugural history, growth, quantity and structure of prison units, management systems, organizational chart, and workforce, aiming to understand the functioning of prisons in terms of management, in order to gain knowledge about the activities of criminal organizations in the prison units of the Metropolitan Region of Salvador (RMS). It is of utmost importance to contextualize the influence and interference of criminal organizations in the dynamics of the Bahia Prison System and, thus, identify their ramifications, with their existence or coexistence among them. In parallel, bridges of understanding of these internal networks were established, as they are able to guarantee criminal organizations a favorable environment to recruit and co-opt people, establish relationships and new pacts. A case study of a riot that occurred on February 20, 2022, in Module II of the Lemos Brito Penitentiary was also carried out, with the intention of corroborating the understanding of the existence of criminal organizations in Bahian prisons and their activities within these "walls", given the need for administrative intervention to carry out transfers, with the record of deaths and injuries, with the factual record of disagreement between alleged leaders of different criminal organizations, with different territorial domains. The research methodology adopted for this study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with the protagonists of prison management in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, with the aim of understanding their perceptions and experiences regarding criminal organizations in Bahia's prisons. In addition to the interviews, a documentary analysis of official reports and statistical data on the incidence and activities of these organizations in the prison system was carried out. The qualitative approach allowed for an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon, while the documentary analysis provided a concrete foundation for the results and analyses presented in this study. These analyses revealed that the presence of these groups results in various consequences, such as increased violence among inmates, corruption of prison officers, and difficulty in implementing resocialization policies. In addition, the data collected evidenced the formation of alliances and rivalries between factions within prisons, which directly impacts the security and control of the prison population.