The Ambiguous Public Security System of Sao Paulo

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