Abstract:
Security is one of the main concerns for Brazillians' citizens and government due to the high
criminality that surrounds the country. The rapid urbanization process is part of the explanation
for the criminality to growth. Sao Paulo is a great example of rapid urbanization causes and
consequences. From the 1960s until the 1990s the city presented an extremely high homicide
rate, yet, Sao Paulo managed to develop successful public security policies to decrease it. The
outcome was an abrupt homicide drop in the 2000s. On the other hand, Sao Paulo has the second
most violent police forces in the country, and differently than the homicide rate, the police
killings rate only increases. The governance theory encounters answers for the discrepancy
between the public security system measures in Sao Paulo. While for homicides there is a
common goal that the government levels and private and public jointly work and invest, for
police killings there are only ruptures in the system and uncoordination among the actors
