The Brazilian criminal justice system faces structural challenges that directly impact public safety, law enforcement and the social reintegration of individuals in conflict with the law. In this context, two central aspects stand out: police violence and criminal recidivism, both of which are crossed by complex social and institutional dynamics that influence the effectiveness of security and justice policies. This seminar aims to reflect on the dimensions of this phenomenon based on two pieces of research carried out as part of a doctoral internship at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra.

One piece of research focuses on police violence, with a focus on the lethality and victimisation of security agents, analysing the challenges underlying the construction of a policing model that reconciles the maintenance of public order with the safeguarding of human rights. The other research paper examines criminal recidivism, exploring the effects of incarceration and electronic surveillance as alternatives to deprivation of liberty, problematising their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and promoting social reintegration.

This seminar aims to promote critical debate on the use of force, the effectiveness of penal policies, the impacts of deprivation of liberty and potential alternatives to incarceration. It also aims to promote in-depth reflection on the role of the State in public security and the administration of criminal justice, contributing both to the advancement of academic production and to the formulation of more effective and humanised public policies.

Moderator: Carlos Nolasco (CES)

Bio note 

Cristiane do Socorro Loureiro Lima | PhD in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte with a doctoral internship at CES/UC. PhD candidate in the Democracy in the 21st Century Doctoral Programme (CES/FEUC). BA and MA in Social Work from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). Collaborating professor in the UFPA Outreach Programme “Social Work in Public Security, Human Rights and Education for Nonviolence in the Amazonian Context”. Member of the Editorial Board of the Revista Brasileira de Segurança Pública, Editora Blimunda and the periodical Polícia Militar do Pará em revista. She is a senior associate of the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP). She was a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme. She is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Pará Military Police. Lima teaches and researches on the following subjects: human rights, democracy, public security, social work and citizenship.

Talita Josiane Fraga | PhD student in Administration at the University of Southern Santa Catarina, currently doing a doctoral internship at the Centre for Social Studies. She has a Master’s degree (2018) and an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (2013). She is a penal police officer in the Government of the State of Santa Catarina, with experience in sustainability and prison projects.