Abstract
AbstractUsing a survey applied to incarcerated populations in Latin American countries, this study aims to examine the factors that determine the existence of violence in prisons and explain why some penitentiaries are more violent than others by studying variables such as inmate age, sentence length, and crime type. A quantitative examination is used to determine the effect of these variables on prison violence (property theft and beatings), and whether it is a result of the living conditions within the prisons. The results indicate that the most overpopulated prisons, with the worst living conditions, have the lowest levels of violence (in Brazil and El Salvador). The lower rates of violence observed in certain Latin American prisons appear to be explained by the existence of criminal governments within penitentiary systems, organized and run by a dominant prison gang.
Funder
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference118 articles.
1. Álvarez P (2011) Retroceso de los derechos humanos en las cárceles de Argentina. Retrieved 20, June, 2020, from http://suite101.net/article/situacion-de-derechos-humanos-en-crceles-empeoro-en-argentina-a37648
2. Antillano, A., Arias, E. D., & Zubillaga, V. (2020). Violence and territorial order in Caracas, Venezuela. Political Geography, 82, 102221.
3. Antony, C. (2007). Mujeres invisibles, las cárceles femeninas en América Latina. Revista Nueva Sociedad, 208, 73–85.
4. Ariza, L., & Iturralde, M. (2022). Tales from La Catedral: The narco and the reconfiguration of prison social order in Colombia. Prisons, Inmates and Governance in Latin America (pp. 63–92). Springer International Publishing.
5. Atlas R (1982) Violence in Prison: Architectural Determinants. University Microfilms International. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation)