This paper is based on a comparative analysis of the effects of overcrowding on the work of socio-educational security. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with juvenile detention officers from two diverse contexts about overcrowding in social-educational units: Amazonas and Rio de Janeiro. Based on these interviews, it will be possible to understand that the current moment of decreasing overcrowding in both contexts has not caused the same effects on the workday and the lives of the juvenile detention officers: while the “socioeducadores” from Amazonas state that the end of overcrowding has positively impacted their personal lives and work routines, the “agentes de segurança socioeducativa” from Rio de Janeiro do not indicate deep changes after the decrease in units in Rio de Janeiro.