Processo de criminalização da pobreza: a relação entre a juventude como modelo de perfil criminal e os aspectos condicionantes de natureza socioeconômica

Abstract

Within the context of criminal policies, it is not uncommon to observe discourses that associate poverty with criminality. The use of criminal law protection originally intended to safeguard the legal interests necessary for the legitimate exercise of the power to punish is frequently distorted by the construction of a criminal profile centered on youth. As a general objective, this research aims to contribute to academic debate by demystifying this discriminatory discourse, which is so prevalent in criminal policies. Furthermore, it questions the legal relevance of criminal profiling and the viability of selectivity within a criminal justice system that claims to align with the guarantee-based model. In methodological terms, the study employs conceptual structure analysis on the topic, using the hypothetical-deductive method, supported by predominantly bibliographic research of an explanatory nature. As the main outcome of this investigation, the incongruity of the discourse that establishes a causal link between poverty and criminality becomes evident, as well as the impossibility of affirming the existence of a definitive criminal profile.