Abstract
Recent public statistics on law enforcement activities show that the Brazilian police are among the nation’s least trusted institutions. The legitimacy of policing derives from a perception of fair and justifiable rules applied fairly to all citizens, but police actions in low-income favela communities in Brazil have been denounced repeatedly for their arbitrary nature, abuse of authority and truculence. Most studies analysing trust in the police have been conducted through surveys. In this paper, however, we examine trust in action, through a video analysis of a stop-and-check operation undertaken by police officers in a low-income favela community in Rio de Janeiro. The analysis of this interaction shows that distrust steered the actions of both sides: the officers’ decision to stop somebody and use force reflects this distrust in people living or moving around in these narrow alleys, while the suspect’s resistance and calls for help demonstrate his fear and distrust of the police. We believe that examining police actions through a micro-analytical lens can contribute to training law enforcement officers, encouraging deeper reflection on factors that undermine trust in this institution.
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