Ejecución penitenciaria y riesgolos instrumentos de valoración y gestión del riesgo en el modelo de penalidad español

Abstract

Risk is a key element in the current configuration of criminal justice systems in the Global North. Accordingly, the construction of many discourses, narratives and instruments for preventing and punishing crime has been highly influenced by the risk perspective. This tendency has been present in Spain, where both law-makers and the various public agencies that operate in the penal field have incorporated risk as a guideline for their decisions. In order to analyze this punitive context, this dissertation takes into account, firstly, the relation between two of the main theories on risk and the penal and prison system. Secondly, three fundamental Spanish prison law institutions are studied so as to determine the extent to which the idea of risk has permeated them. Thirdly, this dissertation addresses four of the main risk assessment instruments used by the Spanish prison system. This section is particularly significant, since it allows us to examine some tools which still remain relatively unknown in Spanish academic milieus. Overall, this dissertation enables us to analyze the introduction of the notion of risk into the criminal justice system, while studying the configuration, development and relevance of risk assessment instruments in the Spanish prison system.