The prison system in Brazil is breeding gang activity both inside the institutions and outside on the streets. According to a report released on Wednesday by the Human Rights Watch, the prison systems in Brazil currently suffer from a lack of timely trials which lead to overcrowding.
Most arrested individuals do not receive trials until months after their arrest. As a result, these pretrial individuals are put into detention centers until their court date without an option for bail. The large number of pretrial detentions have resulted in severe overcrowding as well as promoted gang activity.
In the state of Maranhão, a pilot program reduced the amount of the pretrial detentions by allowing for earlier trial dates. At these trials, the judges determined if the detainees should be held in pretrial detention or be given the option of bail.
The HRW reported that the quickest first hearing for detainees with drug charges is about three to four months after arrest. Other charges take longer to obtain a court hearing. As a result, most of the detainees are forced to enter prisons that are occupied by convicted criminals. 60 percent of the inmates in Maranhão prisons are pretrial detainees.
The large number of detainees put into prison has largely contributed to the overcrowding in Brazilian prisons. In October of 2014, more than 6,500 individuals were imprisoned in Maranhão institutions that were meant to house 3,600. The overcrowding strains security at these facilities and allows for more intense gang activity.
Most of the detainees who enter prison are forced to join gangs. In Pedrinhas, the largest prison in the state, two gangs are the most prominent: the Primeiro Comando do Maranhão (PCM) or the Bonde dos 40. The gangs have gotten so large that they control several parts of the facility and detainees are pressured to join these gangs through violence.
Due to lack of security, murders and violence occur often in the prisons. In the past two years, over 90 inmates have been killed in the Maranhão prison system. The corpses are often mutilated in order to avoid detection by prison guards. In addition, the long time period between arrest and trial allows gangs more time to pressure detainees to join.
The Brazilian Congress has yet to enact laws that ensure speedy trials, though a draft bill was introduced in 2011. According to international standards, Brazil's prison systems must provide quicker trials as well as separate facilities for detainees and convicts. The pilot program in Maranhão state has proved effective in curbing the effects of overcrowding in prisons through quicker trials. Despite the positive effects of the pilot program, some judges in Brazil say they are currently occupied with their current schedules and to allow for quicker trials for detainees would be an unfeasible addition to their current workload. Though, the judges who participated in the pilot program hope to implement similar programs throughout the country in the coming years.
