The Mass Incarceration and the Increase of violence in The States of the Brazilian Western Amazon, 2005-2017: Analyses and Perspectives

In the last two decades imprisonment and violence have grown sharply in the states of the Brazilian Western Amazon, comprising Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, and Roraima. This article aims to analyze the increase in those numbers between 2005 and 2017. The research uses statistical data analysis and compares the variations of these data over the period, in search of meaningful associations that help to understand why, while the states of the region became the largest mass incarcerated in the country, crime has not stopped increasing. The results show that increased incarceration has not diminished crime and that without an urgent review of the criminal policy imposed by all institutions of the justice system violence must continue to increase in prisons and on the streets.

Keywords: Mass Incarceration; Amazon; Brazilian Western Amazon; Crime; Criminal Policy