Community policing in Brazil, a beacon of hope in the combat against police violence?

Samenvatting

Brazil has never been more violent than it is today. The war on drugs and crime has even gone so far that the state ordered a militarization of the public security. In light of the continuation of police brutality throughout history we could ask ourselves why there is still such a high rate of lethal police violence in democratic Brazil and if community policing could present a solution to decrease this police violence? In 2008 The UPP’s or unidade policia pacificadora or pacifying police units have been brought to life in an attempt to bring peace to the favelas. Their goal was to decrease violence, adapt a proximity approach, make people trust the police again and bring back the rule of law into the places where it had been absent for a long time. It was portrayed as a community policing project by the media but the question remains if the UPP really was a community policing model in practice or was it but a mere scheme to advocate and ensure peace for the great events? After defining what community oriented policing means we can pose the following question: is community oriented policing applicable in this country based on what we know about the successful cases and failures? Ultimately based on a literature review and expert interviews with academics in the field this research tries to answer what effect the UPP as a so-called community policing had on police violence in Rio de Janeiro. This research tries to produce insights on how the philosophy of community oriented policing as we know it in our own country is applied within the state of Rio de Janeiro, the capitol of a young democratic Brazil, and if it in practice could have an effect on police violence.

Datum prijs	10 sep 2018
Originele taal	English
Prijsuitreikende instantie	Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Begeleider	Lucas De Melo Melgaço (Promotor)