Criminal governance on the frontline
an exploratory study of the discretionary of penal police officers in brazilian prisons
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52521/21.10603Keywords:
Street-level workers, Accountability, Criminal GovernanceAbstract
Street-level Bureaucrats work in a web of multiple relationships in the context of multiple responsibilities and multi-level governance. This study investigates the interactions between frontline discretion and accountability regime frameworks in prison systems. Building on in-depth qualitative research, this exploratory study focuses on the tensions that arise from criminal organizations within the prison context in Brazil. Drawing on 10 formal interviews with prison officers from São Paulo, this study identified the dilemmas experienced by these bureaucrats driven by criminal gang interests and how these dilemmas interact with the multiple accountabilities to which these professionals respond. This study contributes to the existing literature by theorizing how criminal governance constrains the discretion of frontline workers while performing their jobs.
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