Psychology and public security policy: ‘Caveirão’ as an analyst

Abstract

Considering an armored vehicle called ‘Caveirão’ existence an analyst of the actual public security policy inicially supports in the article that the utilization of such device is related what is called dominance of criminal positivism. The ‘Caveirão’ is an evidence of a repressive policy based on confrontation and intimidation strategy, police practical based on the logic of ‘internal enemy’ and criminalization of poverty. This article also discuss the relations of power which defines the concepts of grounded suspiciousness and emergencies of social groups defined as dangerous. Keeping these conceptions in mind, an idea is being sustained that the criminal positivism overcome requires to discuss the police practical that legitimate and makes the ‘Caveirão’ work on, and are not at the policeman practical reduced.