Silvia Ramos discusses the service aspects of the Pacifier Police Unit (Unidade Pacificadora da Policia, UPP) program, the difficulties in coordinating the state and municipal governments and strategies to integrate civil society and the local business community into governmental development programs. Ramos describes a multidisciplinary approach to issues of crime and policing in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, including partnering at-risk young people in the favelas with companies to increase skill sets and employment levels, community policing, and distributing services and resources equally among favelas and middle-class neighborhoods. Overall she explains how the problems in the favelas affected all Rio de Janeiro residents and praises the success of simple police strategies.
Silvia Ramos headed Rio de Janeiro’s Center for Studies on Public Security and Citizenship (Centro de Estudos de Segurança e Cidadania / CESeC). In this position, she actively oversaw the implementation of the UPP (Unidade Pacificadora da Policia) program. Silvia Ramos was a founder of the Brazilian Interdisciplinary Aids Association (ABIA) and was scientific coordinator of the Visiting Researcher Program of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in partnership with FAPERJ (Rio de Janeiro State Foundation to Support Research). She was a consultant to various nongovernmental organizations and advised the deputy secretary for public security in the State of Rio de Janeiro on programs to protect minorities and the environment. She is also on the board of directors for Altus global alliance, which focuses on public safety and justice. She earned a master's in psychology from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.
1.4.13 ST corrected name of Open Society Justice Initiative in text.
Abstract
In 2003, the bloodless Rose Revolution ushered in an era of unprecedented reform in the Republic of Georgia. Widespread dissatisfaction with the undemocratic and corrupt post-Soviet regime culminated in the 2004 election of Mikheil Saakashvili as president. Riding a wave of popular support and eager to act before the political winds shifted, Saakashvili immediately targeted the corrupt police service, seen by many Georgians as the epitome of state dysfunction. By the end of 2006, his administration had abolished a KGB-style security ministry and its related police unit, dismissed every member of the country's uniformed police and created a new police force from scratch. By 2009, it was clear that the reformers' strategy-capitalize on public support, think boldly, act quickly and fix mistakes as they arise had produced significant progress.
Matthew Devlin drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in the Republic of Georgia during May 2009. Case published May 2010.
In the 1990s, the Lesotho Mounted Police Service was in disarray. Its members had gone on strike and had committed kidnappings and other crimes in the small African kingdom. A police mutiny in the capital in 1997 forced the government to address the issue of reforming the service. The effort included setting up three support agencies to monitor the activities of the police and ensure adherence to common standards. These agencies had some success but struggled to assert the type of monitoring that was envisaged. The government in 2005 appointed a forward-looking commissioner who forged ahead with her own reform priorities. The case offers insights into the challenges that arise when establishing external oversight agencies and also shows how savings can be made and reforms moved forward with the right leadership, even in low-resource environments.
Daniel Scher drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Maseru, Lesotho, in February 2010.
Nitish Kumar was elected chief minister of Bihar, India’s poorest state, in December 2005, when the state’s government was weighed down by two decades of institutional decline, widespread lawlessness and a society deeply divided by caste and religion. Improving law and order was a major priority of his new government. The main challenges were rampant criminal activity that curtailed social and economic life, a short-staffed and under-motivated police force, widespread corruption in the ranks, and the poor image of the Bihar police. Using innovative measures, Kumar and his top police officers set out to rid Bihar of its so-called jungle raj, or law of the jungle.
Rohan Mukherjee drafted this policy note on the basis of interviews conducted in Patna, Bihar, in July 2009. Two separate memos, “Coalition Building in a Divided Society” and “Reviving the Administration,” describe Kumar’s efforts to build a coalition for reform and improve administration, respectively.
Beginning in the late 1980s, Rio de Janeiro suffered increasing urban violence as the drug trade moved south from the Caribbean. The favelas, shantytowns and slums on the hillsides surrounding Brazil's second-largest city, saw a rise in both inter-gang violence and clashes between police and drug traffickers. Innocent bystanders often died in the crossfire. In 2007, working with the support of the governor, the state's secretary for public security, José Mariano Beltrame, and his colleagues tried a new approach. Instead of repeated military-style interventions to oust the traffickers, Beltrame created the Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora (UPP, or Peace Police Unit), to provide a continuous police presence and help extend the reach of the government into contested areas. Beltrame's team rolled out the program on a pilot basis and identified communities where early success would boost the image of the government in the eyes of Rio's population. This case study outlines the development of the new approach, the problems encountered in implementation, and some of the results from the pilot program's opening months.
Richard Bennet drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August and September 2010. Case published December 2010.
In this interview, Dr. Luiz Eduardo Soares discusses police criminality, particularly extrajudicial killings, armed invasions, tortures and disrespect towards the poor, and the ideological and political barriers to police reform in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Initially, he describes the process of reforming Brazil’s state institutions during its transition out of a dictatorship. He addresses issues of political polarization and building consensus around reform projects, institutional disorganization, and community policing. Dr. Soares explains the successes of the UPP (Unidade Pacificadora da Policia) program and the GPAE (Grupamento de Policiamento em Areas Especiais) program in establishing secure neighborhoods and rooting out police corruption. In order to scale up the successes of the experimental peace policing initiatives in several of the favelas, Dr. Soares asserts the need for major institutional reform within the police, which would require significant political support. He also stresses the importance of empirical research methods to address social problems.
At the time of this interview Dr. Luiz Eduardo Soares was the Secretary of Municipal Valuation of Life and Prevention of Nova Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro. He has served in numerous government positions dealing with issues of policing and public safety and in academic positions at various prestigious universities. After completing his Ph.D in Sociology and Political Science and researching and teaching for 15 years at IUPERJ (University Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro), Dr. Soares was appointed to a research position in security policy at ISER (Instituto de Estudos da Religião). In 2003, Dr. Soares became National Secretary of Public Security for Rio de Janeiro. Since occupying this position, he has overseen the implementation of internal police reform programs, such as the UPP and GPAE.
