Ignacio Cano

Nas trincheiras do método: o ensino da metodologia das ciências sociais no Brasil

O artigo reflete sobre o ensino tradicional das ciencias sociais no Brasil a partir do seguinte diagnostico inicial: uma enfase excessiva nos classicos e na erudicao em detrimento da pesquisa empirica. Em segundo lugar, pretende analisar o ensino da metodologia das ciencias sociais no pais, permeado por uma falsa oposicao entre as tecnicas quantitativas e qualitativas, que sao elevadas a categoria de metodologias diferentes e inclusive contraditorias. Esta guerra metodologica salda-se, com frequencia, com a derrota do suposto ‘metodo quantitativo’, ao qual sao associados defeitos epistemologicos de raiz e, inclusive, conteudos ideologicos. Neste contexto, o termo ‘positivista’ costuma ser usado mais como insulto metodologico do que como descricao de uma corrente epistemologica real. A visao metodologica triunfante tende a ver a pesquisa mais como uma arte do que como um empreendimento sujeito a criterios de validacao objetivos e rigorosos. Este cenario provoca que outros profissionais, como os economistas e os estatisticos, acabem ocupando, na pratica, o espaco abandonado pelos cientistas sociais.

Racial bias in police use of lethal force in Brazil

This research attempts to test the existence of racial bias in the use of lethal force by police in Brazil. Data from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo reveal that the proportion of blacks and mulattos among lethal victims of police intervention is higher than their respective share in the population. The paper further analyses the ratio of individuals killed vs. those wounded by police in Rio and shows that the likelihood of being killed is higher for blacks than for whites. Overall findings support the hypothesis of racial bias in police use of lethal force.

Old strategies and new approaches towards policing drug markets in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract The present article reviews how policing illegal drug markets has evolved in Rio de Janeiro over the last 30 years. It begins with the traditional paradigm, based on the concept of the ‘war on drugs’, that uses militarized and confrontational strategies. Next, it assesses the impact of recent developments, such as the spread of so called ‘militias’, composed of corrupt law enforcement agents who dominate many communities, and the introduction of the Police Pacification Unit programme (UPP) in 2008. This new programme sets as its main goals the recovery of territorial control from criminal groups and the reduction of violence rather than the end of drug trafficking. Advances, contradictions and limitations of this intervention are discussed.

Police deadly use of firearms: an international comparison

ABSTRACT Under strictly defined conditions based on principles of necessity and proportionality, police may use firearms to achieve a lawful policing objective and not violate fundamental human rights. However, surprisingly little is known about how often the police kill members of the public in the line of work and especially how this prevalence compares across countries. For this study, the authors collected data from 11 countries from all continents on deaths caused by police use of firearms. Finding reliable data proved to be highly challenging as many police agencies either do not keep such statistics or are unwilling to make them public. This lack of transparency feeds into the belief that their use of lethal force may not have been fully justifiable. The authors then correlated police killing rates with homicide rates for each country. The findings confirm that the overall rate of killings by police using firearms strongly correlates with the overall homicide rates in a country. This paper argues that more transparency about police use of firearms is needed in order to gain better understanding of when and why police resort to the use of firearms, and develop more effective measures to prevent loss of life.

A Police Force for the 21st Century: comments on the article by Minayo and Adorno

los da probabilidade de doenca e morte associadas as diversas opcoes de vida. O resultado dessa nova visao de mundo e contraditorio. Se a reflexao sobre o risco pode minimizar as chances de sofrer algum mal, ela pode tambem nos deixar instalados no temor e na ansiedade, na medida em que os avancos cientificos nos revelam a infinidade dos perigos a nossa espreita, antes ignorados. Para alguns autores, a nossa era se define justamente pela ubiquidade do medo, um medo difuso, um malestar universal. Nada exemplifica melhor o medo contemporâneo do que o terrorismo. A cada certo tempo, uma bomba explode em algum lugar do mundo e causa vitimas em lugares localizados a milhares de quilometros daquele onde o conflito se originou. Assim, no mundo globalizado, todos estamos sujeitos a um risco que talvez nao compreendamos plenamente, mas que aparentemente compartilhamos. Como Giddens destaca, a nossa percepcao do risco nao corresponde ao risco real. A expectativa de vida do ser humano nunca foi tao longa, a despeito, ou talvez como resultado, da consciencia dos multiplos perigos que cercam sua vida. O mundo nao e hoje mais perigoso, somos nos que o percebemos como tal. Paralelamente a essa expansao da nocao do risco, o conceito de seguranca, seu antagonista natural, conquista tambem novos territorios. Discute-se nao mais apenas a seguranca dos Estados, mas a dos individuos. E nao so contra a ameaca de morte, doenca ou perda de propriedades, mas contra tudo o que colocar em risco a nossa seguranca ontologica, isto e, a ordem e a continuidade da nossa experiencia no mundo. Nessa linha, o PNUD (Programa das Nacoes Unidas para o Desenvolvimento) define o termo “seguranca humana” como liberacao da necessidade e do temor, uma proposta tao abrangente como dificil de cumprir. Poder-se-ia dizer que o ser humano, atormentado pelos riscos que percebe, tornou-se cada vez mais ambicioso nas suas aspiracoes de seguranca. Certamente, essa evolucao no conceito de seguranca possui impactos na missao que a policia desenvolve. Uma das transformacoes mais significativas e a nova visao da seguranca como uma Uma policia para o seculo XXI: comentario sobre o artigo de Minayo e Adorno

Criminal justice involvement of crack cocaine users in the city of Rio de Janeiro and Greater Metropolitan Area: Implications for public health and the public security agenda

BACKGROUND The international literature has expressed different and sometimes contrasting perspectives when addressing criminal involvement by crack cocaine users, highlighting psychopharmacological aspects, the cycles of craving and pressing economic need, and the interplay with overall deprivation and structural violence. The current study aims to identify variables associated with the arrest and imprisonment of regular crack cocaine users. METHODS Interviewees were recruited from open drug scenes in the city of Rio de Janeiro and Greater Metropolitan Area from September 2011 to June 2013. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted to the data. RESULTS Most of the recruited crack cocaine users were male (78.2% [95%CI: 76.3-79.4]), 18-30 years old (64.7% [95%CI: 62.5-66.2]), non-white (92.9% [95%CI: 91.2-93.4]), single (68.9% [95%CI: 66.8-70.3]), and with 0-7 years of schooling (70.6% [95%CI: 68.5-71.9]). Factors independently associated with arrest were history of inpatient addiction treatment (adjOR 4.31 [95%CI: 1.70-11.32]); male gender (adjOR 2.05 [95%CI: 1.40-3.04); polydrug use (adjOR 1.82 [95%CI: 1.32-2.51]); and 0 to 7 years of schooling (adjOR 1.64 [95%CI: 1.17-2.32]). As for the outcome variable lifetime history of incarceration, the independently associated factors were: male gender (adjOR 2.47 [95%CI: 1.74-3.55]) and longer use of crack cocaine and related substances (e.g., free base and local varieties/denominations of coca products) (adjOR 1.05 [95%CI: 1.01-1.10]). CONCLUSION The studys findings support the use of comprehensive multisector interventions, integrating health promotion and mental health rehabilitation, access to quality education, and management of combined/concomitant use of different substances to reduce and/or prevent criminal involvement by individuals that use crack cocaine and other substances, as well as to prevent/manage relapse.

Race, Crime and Criminal Justice in Brazil

In the last few decades, Brazilian society has had to deal with the issues of racial discrimination and the role that race plays in the development of social relations. For a long time, the old myth that Brazil was a ‘racial democracy’ (Freyre, 1933) avoided the need for any deeper debate or closer scrutiny. Over time, this myth was eroded, among other things, by empirical research that revealed the existence of bias against the black population in various domains. For instance, several studies showed that blacks earn less than whites for comparable jobs — even when educational level and other variables are controlled for — and that their chances of social mobility are lower (Hasenbalg, 1979; Silva, 1985; Ribeiro, 2006).