Drogas ilícitas e reincidência criminal: uma análise dos desafios da segurança pública e da ressocialização sob a ótica do município de Caucaia-CE

Abstract

This scientific article aims to analyze the relationship between the use and trafficking of illicit drugs and the phenomenon of criminal recidivism in the state of Ceará, seeking to uncover the structural, institutional, and macrosocial factors that contribute to the maintenance and perpetuation of this cycle in contemporary Ceará. The research adopts a qualitative approach of an exploratory, bibliographic, and documentary nature. The theoretical framework is grounded in works from Critical Criminology, the Sociology of Crime, and contemporary studies on Public Security, in direct dialogue with recent institutional data from the Information System of the National Penitentiary Department and the Brazilian Forum on Public Security. The study is based on the central hypothesis that drug use does not constitute an isolated variable or the primary and exclusive cause of criminal recidivism. On the contrary, it is part of a complex set of vulnerabilities that includes the selectivity of the criminal justice system, the absence of objective criteria in Law No. 11,343/2006, the Brazilian Drug Law, and the chronic inefficiency of state policies for social reintegration. The results indicate that drug dependence and the indebtedness of low-level users in the illicit market operate as major factors facilitating the recruitment of these populations by criminal factions competing for territorial dominance in Ceará, particularly in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza. It is therefore concluded that a purely punitive tightening of criminal policy acts as a mechanism that perpetuates the prison system, demonstrating that effectively addressing recidivism requires the urgent adoption of systemic and integrated public policies involving public security forces, criminal enforcement courts, and health and social assistance networks, with the aim of breaking the cycle of dependence and crime.