Democratic Policing in Authoritarian Structures: Policing Models and the Exercise of Authority in Sao Paulo, Brazil

• In Event: Southern and Critical Perspectives Upon Policing and Social Order

Abstract

Brazil has a unique model for organising police work between two separate and independent agencies. The registration and investigation of crimes is carried out by the civilian police, while preventive and patrol policing are carried out exclusively by military police. This structure and organisation are legacies of the military dictatorship (1964-1985) and have not changed with the advent of democracy (1988). This paper discusses this model of policing and its implications for Brazilian democracy. Using the concept of procedural justice developed by Tom Tyler (2003) to gauge democratic policing, we analyse the perceptions of police officers on democratic ways of exercising police authority. This study is based on quantitative data from a survey of police officers in the city of São Paulo -– one of the most populous cities in the global south. Results indicate that the quality of relationships within the police institution impacts the perception of organisational justice and distributive justice by police officers. Consequently, the greater the perception of organisational justice among police officers, the greater the defence of procedural justice practices and limits to the abusive use of force in police activity. An important result is that military police officers are less supportive of procedural justice policing than civilian police officers. This contribution provides important insights on: (1) undemocratic police forces in democratic countries in the global South – a model of policing that was not forged in the idea of consent - and (2) the impact of the militarization of police forces on political regimes that claim to be democratic.

Authors

• Viviane de Oliveira Cubas, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

• Frederico Castelo Branco, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil