Particle.news
Download on the App Store
9 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

CCJ Approves Move to Lower Brazil's Criminal Age to 16

The vote opens a slow constitutional process that could expand prison rolls and has drawn public campaigning by politicians and blunt warnings from researchers about limited crime effects.

Image
Image
Entenda os próximos passos da PEC que reduz a maioridade penal

Overview

  • The Chamber of Deputies' Constitution and Justice Committee approved admissibility of a constitutional amendment to drop criminal responsibility from 18 to 16, and the measure now goes to a special commission for a merit phase.
  • The special commission will review amendments and hold hearings before the full Chamber must vote twice with at least 308 deputies in each round and then send any approved text to the Senate.
  • Prominent politicians and presidential hopefuls publicly backed the change, with Senator Flávio Bolsonaro posting in favor, turning the vote into a high-profile campaign issue.
  • Official data show most young people in closed socioeducative units are 16 or older and that prisons are already severely overcrowded, with CNJ/Geopresídios reporting occupancy rising from about 150% to 160.7% and a shortfall of roughly 298,875 places.
  • Researchers and public‑safety experts cite Brazilian and international studies finding no clear crime reduction from lowering the age and warn the change could raise recidivism and shift adolescents into a penitentiary system that struggles to rehabilitate them.