It's the Law

The legal age in Brasil is 18. For everything – drinking, driving, and going to jail. Let’s talk a bit about that last one.

The fact that I’ve learned here that surprises me the most is how criminal acts are treated here – especially for anyone under the age of 18. If you commit a crime, even murder, and you are under 18, even by 1 day, you get away with it. Everyone I’ve spoken with says that nothing happens if you are under 18. However, the law says you do get punished – you go to a juvenile detention center for 3 years. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first crime you’ve committed or the 10^th, you get 3 years if you’re under age.

After serving those three years, you are released and your record is wiped clean – there is no sign that you had done these things.

If you are an adult, you can receive a maximum of 30 years,  but the typical person serves only 5 of those due to various sentence reductions while imprisoned. Furthermore, while you are incarcerated, the government sends a stipend to your family of 900 Reals per child – which is greater than the poverty level.

Everyone I’ve spoken with agrees that their system is flawed, and the government is working on changing the laws. But like most things here in Brazil, I’m betting it will be a slow change to make.