Socio-education x overcrowding
The juvenile justice system Vacancy Control Central
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As in the penal system, the Brazilian juvenile justice system faces several structural problems, including overcrowding as reported to the Federal Supreme Court reaching 183% in some states in the mid-2010s. When judging the theme in 2020, the Court established parameters to be observed in all detention units and measures to reduce overcrowding, including the adoption of a limit number for the capacity of the units.
At the time, some states were already developing concrete experiences of controlling vacancies in the juvenile justice system, and the UNDP supported the CNJ to institutionalize the practice through regulations published in 2021. In April 2022, the service was in operation in five states and in negotiations for implementation in another 16 with the support of the Fazendo Justiça Program.
The method is inspired by the experience in progress in Paraná since 2015, which indicates if there is a vacancy in the unit and, when there is not, what is the place of the adolescent in the queue, notifying the judge at the end of the process. Systems analyst Alison Batista has worked with the juvenile justice system of Paraná since 2008, and in 2016, he became the head of the Division of Vacancies and Information of the Department of Socio-educational Assistance. According to him, although the implementation of the methodology was questioned at the time, the decision of the Supreme Court and the publication of CNJ regulations with technical support from the UNDP teams evidenced the importance and the need for the measure. Data collected by Fazendo Justiça indicate that the national average of overcrowding fell from 96.7% in 2018 to 55% in 2022.
Through Fazendo Justiça Program, Batista has shared Paraná’s experience with professionals from all over the country to foster the implementation of the service.
“The Vacancy Control Center is not just management of the system. The number of teachers, agents, and food is determined by the unit’s capacity. When overcrowded, the service becomes precarious and loses its socio-educational character”.
Alison Batista — Head of the Vacancy Control Center of Paraná
“The violation of rights does not educate people”, argues Claudia Catafesta, Judge of the Court of Adolescents of Londrina. In the judiciary since the age of 23, Catafesta began to dedicate herself to the theme of childhood and youth after eight years as a judge. “I believe we can act more systematically in this area,” she says. With a sparkle in her eyes and an excited voice, the judge explains that in the juvenile justice it is even more evident the impact of judicial measures. “Our work does not end — or should not — in the signing of the sentence. The decision has an impact, we cannot ignore it. If this impact can be positive, why not?”, asks the magistrate.
It was Nelson Mandela who said in his autobiography that no one truly knows a nation until it is inside its jails, that we should be judged on how we treat our most vulnerable citizens. The accountability of adults and adolescents who have committed an infraction can only be understood from a broader view of justice, which also encompasses the fight for social and economic justice so no one is left behind.
And by strengthening local institutions and bodies to ensure actions focused on citizenship and guaranteeing rights, the Fazendo Justiça Program will, with this immense network of partners throughout Brazil, keep transforming realities and enabling new stories to be written, one step at a time. There is still a long way to go.
These stories are featured in the publication “Fazendo Justiça — Learn stories of real impact promoted by the program in the context of deprivation of liberty.” Produced by the Communications Department of the Fazendo Justiça program, this publication shares stories of lives transformed by the program’s positive impact. To access the full material, click here: https://www.cnj.jus.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/historias-fazendo-justica-en.pdf
Fazendo Justiça is a partnership between the National Secretariat of Criminal Policie (SENAPPEN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Brazil, and the National Council of Justice (CNJ). All the individuals featured in the publication were interviewed between December 2021 and April 2022.
