Mr Alberto Kopittke1, Msa Águida Schultz2
1Safe City Institute, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
First evidence on what works and what doesn’t work in policing in Brazil
Introduction
For 50 years Brazil has suffered from a great epidemic of violence that has consumed 1.5 million lives, mostly of young people. A systematic review has already shown that relevant evidence has been produced in Brazil on various types of interventions on homicides and robberies (Kopittke and Ramos, 2021). The objective of this study is to analyze the knowledge already produced in Brazil specifically on evidence-based policing (Sherman, 1998).
Methods
To this end, we conducted a systematic review with a search on major national and international websites (Campbell, 2019).
Results
We included 15 high-quality impact evaluations, including the first three randomized controlled trials done with police in Brazil. A Compstat-style management-by-results model that integrates the different police institutions with intensive use of indicator monitoring has the most robust evidence of effectiveness in reducing homicides. The experiments showed the potential of the use of body cameras to reduce abusive use of force and pointed out the inefficiency of the DARE Program and Community Policing.
Conclusion
The results show relevant evidence that should be used for the formulation of policies aimed at reducing the serious crisis of violence that the country faces.
References:
Campbell Collaboration. (2019). Campbell systematic reviews: policies and guidelines.
Kopittke, AL, & Ramos, MP (2021). What works and what does not work to reduce homicides in Brazil: a systematic review. Journal of Public Administration , 55 , 414-437.
Sherman, L. W. (1998). Evidence-based policing (p. 15). Washington, DC: Police Foundation.
Biography:
Alberto Kopittke, has a master’s degree in Criminology and a PhD in Public Policy, having prepared the first Systematic Review on what works to reduce violent crime ever conducted in the country, among other studies. He was Municipal Secretary of Public Security and was Director of the National Secretariat of Public Security. He is currently the Executive Director of the Safe City Institute, which advises several municipalities in the country to develop evidence-based crime prevention plans.