Determinants of pre-trial detention at the Custody Hearing: reinforcement of social stereotypes?

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify the determinants of the decisions handed down in Custody Hearings, a procedure introduced in the Brazilian criminal justice system in 2015. From the perspective of juridical sociology, we try to understand the disjunctions between how law is portrayed and how it is practiced in Custody Hearings to reveal the factors that increase the odds of using imprisonment as a precautionary measure. Based on qualitative and quantitative data collected in Belo Horizonte between September 2015 and April 2016, we found out that, although the official discourse suggests that imprisonment decisions are technical, social aspects such as gender and skin color increase the odds of pre-trial detention instead of provisional freedom. Thus, Custody Hearings reinforce the police bias and social stereotypes of criminal offenders.