Perfil do encarcerado do presídio regional de Santa Cruz do Sul.

Abstract

This work is about the convict profile of the regional detention center of Santa Cruz do Sul, having as a background the bonds between the social exclusion and criminality. The concept of social exclusion is approached on its many dimensions – economical, social, cultural and political – and considering its new manifestations nowadays. It is tried to have evidences of social exclusion aspects in the Rio Pardo e Taquari Valleys, especially in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul. A historical contextualization of this city is made, trying to show the context on which the prison institution´s implementation and transformations happen. The prison institution of Santa Cruz do Sul has three different historical moments. In the first years of the city colonization in the middle of the 19th century the city prison is built. In 1930, a new building is established, with a better structure, known as the “Old big Jail”, located in a central area of the city. In the end of the 70´s the detention center of Santa Cruz do Sul is built, in the suburb area, and starts receiving convicts of several cities in the region of Santa Cruz do Sul. The work shows a description of technical, economical and social aspects of the detention center of Santa Cruz do Sul, based on information given by the administrator. The convicts profile is shown based on the results of a questionnaire answered by nearly all the convicts in closed regime, in 2008. The data analysis makes it evident that the convicts in the detention center of Santa Cruz do Sul share most of the common characteristics in Brazilian institutions, but they show some peculiarities, related to regional aspects.