The production of Discipline by imprisonment

Abstract

The expansion of the PCC in the São Paulo prison system produced a series of transformations that constituted a new social figure in prison, through a more complex network of interdependence and with a greater level of integration between the individuals that make up this social web. The interdependence network forged from the expansion of the PCC, in addition to the prison population, includes other people and social groups, such as family members of prisoners, individuals belonging to the “world of crime” and are outside prison, the population of the neighborhoods where there are strong presence of the Command and, finally, sectors of public power, such as prison administration. The change that took place in the context of social relations among the prison population is the result of a wide and long social process that combines political, social elements and disputes over power within the prison. The changes that have occurred in the behavior of prisoners will be addressed from some elements that make up the discipline of the Commando.