This research is a case study focused on the resocialization of prison gang members through the lens of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) Gang Renouncement and Disassociation (GRAD) process, a nine-month, three-phase voluntary process whereby confirmed prison gang, or Security Threat Group (STG), members renounce their gang membership and disassociate from the gang while still incarcerated. The TDCJ implemented its gang renunciation process to relinquish its dependence on segregating confirmed prison gang members and to provide them a way to transition out of segregation. The GRAD process has been in place since 2000 with more than 2,600 offenders completing it, but little information, other than anecdotal evidence, is available to support or disprove its success or effectiveness at de-ganging and resocializing prison gang members for the long haul. Interviews were conducted with 16 individuals, including GRAD correctional officers and instructors, and law enforcement officers with known expertise and knowledge of prison gang investigations. A limited amount of extant aggregate-level data was provided by TDCJ to supplement the narratives in the qualitative analysis. Findings suggest that the identified goals of the process differ among GRAD staff and non-GRAD staff: GRAD staff focused on offender rehabilitation, and non-GRAD staff focused on gang renunciation. It was also found that resocialization and normative change can and do occur in the closed GRAD environment; however, no tracking mechanism exists to systematically and pro-actively monitor their behavior once they are released from GRAD to determine if they have internalized these new norms and values. Based on the interviews, it also appears that the length of time spent in segregation prior to renunciation renders the offender more grateful and appreciative, and, therefore, more likely to successfully complete the process. Finally, interviews with law enforcement reveal that, upon release to the broader community, these offenders may have renounced the gang – but not the crime. The dissertation ends with limitations to the study, recommendations for future research, and implications for social work. / text

O presente trabalho faz um recorte de tópicos pontuais sobre as narrativas expostas nos meios de comunicação contemporâneos sobre a segregação das riquezas naturais e humanas no Estado do Amazonas. Optou-se pela investigação bibliográfica e em registros que demonstraram episódios descritos na história dos habitantes desta região. No primeiro capítulo fez-se referência à perspectiva de anúncio com aspectos de região colonizada, submissa às ordens da coroa portuguesa, que exerciam opressão sobre os colonizados. O segundo capítulo é descrito na perspectiva de denúncia por manifestar indignação sobre as ações de segregação social e econômica. O terceiro capítulo, na perspectiva de renúncia, concentrou o ensaio na crítica ao continuísmo das ações direcionadas pelos projetos contingentes ao desenvolvimento social e econômico. A pesquisa teve foco central na análise sobre as ações cotidianas de segregação das riquezas naturais e a exploração da força de trabalho nesta localidade. Foi elaborada a reflexão sobre a distância entre as ocorrências do passado e a realidade cotidiana. A referência teórica pautou-se em autores que narraram os episódios singulares: Ferreira, Cunha, Piza, Ribeiro e Sousa que trataram da realidade amazônica. Não se pretendeu esgotar esta reflexão, mas espera-se que possa contribuir para despertar o interesse de outros na pesquisa social com perspectiva de sugerir políticas públicas que contemplem o bem-estar social dos menos favorecidos da região. / This paper makes an outline of specific topics about the narratives presented in the contemporary means of communication on the segregation of the natural and human wealth in the state of Amazonas. The option was for a bibliographic investigation and research in registers which showed episodes described in the history of the inhabitants of this region. In the first chapter reference was made to the perspective of announcement with aspects of the colonized region, submitted to the orders of the Portuguese crown, which oppressed the colonized. The second chapter is described in the perspective of denouncement as it manifests indignation about the actions of social and economic segregation. The third chapter, in the perspective of renouncement, concentrated the essay on the criticism of the continuation of the actions directed by the contingent projects toward social and economic development. The research had its central focus on the analysis of the daily actions of segregation of the natural wealth and the exploitation of the work force in this locality. It elaborated a reflection about the distance between the occurrences in the past and the daily reality. The theoretical reference was based on authors who narrated unique episodes: Ferreira; Cunha, Piza, Ribeiro and Sousa who dealt with the Amazonian reality. One did not intend to exhaust this reflection, but one hopes that it may contribute to awaken the interest of others in social research with the perspective of suggesting public policies which contemplate the social well being of the less advantaged in the region.