This article aims to analyze the institution and effectiveness of the custody hearing as an instrument of humanization of criminal proceedings, drawing a parallel with the existing disjunctions between the current legislation and its application. To do so, the legal apparatus 13.964/19 responsible for regulating the custody hearing in the country is explored, in view of the perceptions based on the work done voluntarily, through cooperation between the extension project linked to the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte named Motyrum Penitenciário and Serviço de Assistência Rural e Urbano -SAR, which performs a work of care and guidance to family members of detainees in the central of flagrants in Natal-RN. The observation and direct contact with the family members allowed reflections as to their stigmatization, evidencing the unconstitutionality of the punitive translation.