Police Education in Brazil and Latin America

This book discusses police education in Brazil and other countries of Latin America, with a focus on finding ways for police to maintain respect for citizenship and adhere to democratic values. Latin America has been struggling for decades with economic vulnerabilities, extreme social inequality, and political and institutional weaknesses. As a result, the region has faced difficulties in maintaining order and democratizing due process of law. Their capacity has been limited by a lack of social legitimacy and professionalization of the states' agencies, resulting from having been historically instrumentalized by dominant elites for the satisfaction of their own economic and institutional interests. Some outcomes have been the adoption by police of an adversarial view of citizens and their constitutional rights as well as high rates of police violence and lethality. This collection represents an unprecedented English language discussion offering comparative analysis of the realities and problems of Latin America. The contributors address the complex education of police officers as well as the technical and professional capacity of police in the daily exercise of their activities. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners working in and around Brazilian and Latin American policing, as well as students and scholars of international law enforcement.