Abstract:
This article analyzes the centrality of public security and justice policies in Latin America and the Caribbean based on various theoretical research techniques (documental and bibliographical analysis) and fieldwork (“in loco” visits and participant observations), undertaken between 2015 and 2021. It starts from the assumption that violence and insecurities are approached as a flagrant obstacle to human development and the consolidation of the rule of law in the region. It is identified, in the comparison of the specialized literature and in the comparative study of these public policies, the relevance of the role played by the political leadership of the State and the civic engagement of several social actors around an integrated and integral territorial governance of citizen public security policies. Despite a punitive political culture and a history of authoritarian governments in the region, there are, after all, key principles and concepts for a new type of governance of citizen security (and justice) in Brazil and in the region aimed at saving and preserve lives.
Keywords:
Democracy; Citizen Security and Justice; Governance