Nos braços da lei: o uso da violência negociada no interior das prisões

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze, through the narrative of the professional that works in prisons of SEAP-RJ, in which situations and based on what justifications this professional resorts to the use of physical strength during his quotidian in prisons. The work routine of penitentiary workers is presented according to the study of a case accomplished at Instituto Presídio Hélio Gomes [Penitentiary Institute Hélio Gomes]. In the study, the reports of members of the policeman groups are our main source of information. In another phase of the research, the process of professional qualification of prison servants hired in 2004 by SEAP-RJ was followed through classes given at Escola de Gestão Penitenciária [School of Penitentiary Administration]. In both cases, the participative observation was the methodology that allowed collecting data and interacting with the studied group. The narrative is centered on the process of socialization that prison servants go through in order to become integrated with the values active in prisons. It is suggested that the complete integration between the law enforcer and the universe of prisons results in his socialization in the world of crime . The possibility of using physical violence as a mechanism of control, in the negotiated violence modality, has turned out to be a viable hypothesis. However, more empirical evidences are needed, especially with the penitentiary interns, in order to be formally validated.