18/01/2017
Successive prison riots point to systemic failures of penitentiary system in Brazil and the war for drug trade monopoly
Since the beginning of 2017, 123 inmates have been killed in 5 separate prison riots across Brazil. These incidents highlighted the systemic failure of a penitentiary system that is overcrowded and under-secured. As Brazil’s incarceration rate remains high and the construction of new prisons is straggling, penitentiary centers are often more than 50% above capacity and without appropriate staffing or security measures updates.