O Grupo de Intervenção Rápida (GIR): a gestão intramuros do encarceramento em massa no Estado de São Paulo

Abstract

Taking into account the transformations and characteristics of the prison scenario of the state of São Paulo, between the decades of 1990 and 2000, defined by specificities such as mass incarceration, the new inmates' profile, the operation of criminal organizations and the expansion of the prison system throughout the state, the research aimed at understanding the social actors' perceptions surrounding the activities related to the SAP of São Paulo under the context of the elaboration and working dynamic of the GIR, that is comprised by ASP under the responsibility of the SAP. According to official informations, GIR aims to act in the prevention and intervention of rebellions and mutinies within the São Paulo prisons, its creation dates 2001.Our hypothesis is that the GIR was developed to combat the so-called criminal gangs within the prisons, especially the First Command of the Capital (PCC), because it was assigned the role of the two major riots in São Paulo prison system, the first in 2001 and the second in 2006. Along with this, we analyzed the creation of the post of Convoy Agent and Penitentiary Surveillance (AEVP), also in 2001, which characterizes an apparent demilitarization of prisons. The research was composed by qualitative methods, with the features: qualitative interview with social actors that surround the activities related to SAP, the documental research concerning laws, resolutions and projects relating to prison management and the review literature of the issues that circumscribed our interest. The analysis of the research material was accomplished following the guidelines proposed by Michel Foucault concerning speech analysis, considering, mainly, the exclusion procedures that manage and control speeches and the subjects that enunciate them. The main findings of this research show the development of political, legal and institutional arrangements within the SAP that promoted their autonomy under the Public Security of the State of São Paulo, through the expertise of its employees, especially the ASP part of the GIR and the AEVP. The replacement of the Military Police (MP) for these two groups did not mean a demilitarization of the prison. However, it became evident that the arrangements, as GIR, comprise a set of measures to assist in the management of a prison mass multiplied in a short period and imposed challenges for its administration. Moreover, these arrangements share a common characteristic that is present not only in the administration performed by SAP, but throughout the area of Public Security: the lack of transparency of the data and procedures.