Conceptualization of Police Violence based on the Practices of Human Rights Defenders
Abstract
I present a research study aimed at understanding the discourses and practices regarding police violence that human rights defenders in Chile have. Using an ethnographic methodology (2020-2022), I worked with defenders from a state institution, a civil organization that supports victims, and another civil organization that monitors protests. I conducted 16 interviews, document reviews, and daily activities observations. The integrated ethnographic analysis aimed to understand how discourses and practices maintain and promote certain social relations. This research allowed me to identify practices directed toward the State, society, and the organizations themselves. The meanings of these resistance practices come together in three interrelated areas that characterize this institutional violence: invisibilization, naturalization and impunity. I conclude that filing complaints and educating to promote cultural changes create paths to face the causes of police abuses associated with the productive role of the police in a racialized and class-based order.
Keywords
Violence, Resistance, Human Rights, Use of Force, PolicingReferences
Ang, Desmond (2020). The effects of police violence on inner-city students*. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(1), 115-168. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaa027
Birk, Mie; Kolind, Torsten; Hunt, Geoffrey, & Søgaard, Thomas (2020). Experiencing police violence and insults: Narratives from ethnic minority men in Denmark. Nordic Journal of Criminology, 21(2), 170-185. https://doi.org/10.1080/2578983X.2020.1839712
Bonner, Michelle (2021). Reclaiming citizenship from police violence. Citizenship Studies, 25(3), 317-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2021.1903396
Boutros, Magda; LeDerff, Paul, & Pregnolato, Anthony (2022). Comprendre les mobilisations contre les violences policières. Champ pénal/Penal field, 26, Article 26. https://journals.openedition.org/champpenal/14104
Brucato, Ben (2015). The new transparency: Police violence in the context of ubiquitous surveillance. Media and Communication, 3(3), 39-55. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v3i3.292
Calveiro, Pilar (2021). Resistir al neoliberalismo: Comunidades y autonomías. CLACSO/Siglo XXI. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2v88dnx
CIDH & AECID (2021). Guía práctica sobre lineamientos y recomendaciones para la elaboración de planes de mitigación de riesgos de personas defensoras de derechos humanos (106/21). https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/r/dddh/guias/GuiaPractica_DefensoresDDHH-v3_SPA.pdf
Coffey, Amanda, & Atkinson, Paul (2003). Encontrar el sentido a los datos cualitativos: Estrategias complementarias de investigación. Universidad de Antioquia.
Cooper, Hannah, & Fullilove, Mindy (2016). Editorial: Excessive police violence as a public health issue. Journal of Urban Health, 93(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0040-2
de Certeau, Michel (1980/2000). La invención de lo cotidiano. 1 Artes de Hacer. Universidad Iberoamericana.
Delehanty, Casey; Mewhirter, Jack; Welch, Ryan, & Wilks, Jason (2017). Militarization and police violence: The case of the 1033 program. Research & Politics, 4(2), 205316801771288. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168017712885
DeVylder, Jordan; Anglin, Deidre; Bowleg, Lisa; Fedina, Lisa, & Link, Bruce (2022). Police violence and public health. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 18(1), 527-552. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-072720-020644
Diz, Carlos (2018). Tácticas del cuerpo: Activismo y resistencia en la ciudad en crisis. Revista de Dialectología y Tradiciones Populares, 73(1), 127-152. https://doi.org/10.3989/rdtp.2018.01.005
Emesowum, Benedict (2016). Identifying cities or countries at risk for police violence. Journal of African American Studies, 21(2), 269-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-016-9335-3
Espinoza, Jacqueline, & Íñiguez, Lupicinio (2017). “Mujeres peligrosas”: Prácticas discursivas del Estado chileno en relación con la prostitución, el comercio sexual y el trabajo sexual. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales, 8(2), 388-411. https://doi.org/10.21501/22161201.2230
Fassin, Didier (2013/2016). La fuerza del orden: Una etnografía del accionar policial en las periferias urbanas. Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
Foucault, Michel (1976/2016). Historia de la sexualidad. 1. La voluntad de saber (2a ed., 4a reimpresión). Siglo XXI.
Foucault, Michel (2008). La arqueología del saber (2a ed. 3a reimp.). Siglo XXI.
Garriga, José (2016). Del “correctivo” al “aguante” Análisis comparativo de las acciones violentas de policías y “barras bravas”. Runa, 37(1), 39-52.
Garriga, José (2020). Del «respeto» al control social. Sobre la productividad de la violencia policial. Tram[p]as de la comunicación y la cultura, 85, e041. https://doi.org/10.24215/2314274xe041
Gerber, Mónica; Figueiredo, Ana; Sáez, Luciano, & Orchard, Macarena (2023). Legitimidad, justicia y justificación de la violencia intergrupal entre carabineros y manifestantes en Chile. Psykhe, 32(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.7764/psykhe.2021.31721
Gerber, Mónica; Moya, Cristóbal; Castillo, Alejandro; Orchard, Macarena, & Puga, Ismael (2021). Acting collectively to confront injustice: The mediating role of the legitimacy of authorities. Studies in Psychology, 42(1), 76-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/02109395.2020.1857582
Gray, Benjamin; Barton, Emma; Davies, Alisha; Long, Sara; Roderick, Janine, & Bellis, Mark (2017). A shared data approach more accurately represents the rates and patterns of violence with injury assaults. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 71, 1218-1224. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2017-209872
Greene, Carolyn; Urbanik, Marta-Marika, & Samuels-Wortley, Kanika (2022). “It stays with you for life”: The everyday nature and impact of police violence in Toronto’s inner-city. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17), Article 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710503
Guber, Rosana (2011). La observación participante como sistema de contextualización de los métodos etnográficos. Revista Latinoamericana de Metodología de las Ciencias Sociales, 1(2), 60-90.
Hammersley, Martyn, & Atkinson, Paul (1983/2006). Etnografía: Métodos de investigación (2a ed.). Paidós.
Harju, Bärbel (2020). “Stay vigilant”: Copwatching in Germany. Surveillance & Society, 18(2), 280-283. https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v18i2.13921
Íñiguez, Lupicinio, & Antaki, Charles (1998). Análisis del discurso. Anthropos, 177, 59-66.
Jackson, Ashley; Fedina, Lisa; DeVylder, Jordan, & Barth, Richard (2021). Police violence and associations with public perceptions of the police. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 12(2), 303-326. https://doi.org/10.1086/711683
Jasso, Lucía, & Jasso, Carolina (2021). Abuso policial, discrecionalidad y tecnologías de vigilancia en América Latina. Iztapalapa, 42(90/1), Article 90/1.
Jobard, Fabien (2002/2011). Abusos policiales: La fuerza pública y sus usos. Prometeo Libros.
Jorquera, Tamara, & Piper, Isabel (2018). Revisión de estudios sobre violencias políticas realizados en la última década. Psicoperspectivas, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.5027/psicoperspectivas-Vol17-Issue3-fulltext-1294
Jun, Hyun-Jin; DeVylder, Jordan, & Fedina, Lisa (2020). Police violence among adults diagnosed with mental disorders. Health & Social Work, 45(2), 81-89. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlaa003
Kappeler, Victor, & Kraska, Peter (2013). Normalising police militarisation, living in denial. Policing and Society, 25(3), 268-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2013.864655
Kramer, Rory, & Remster, Brianna (2022). The slow violence of contemporary policing. Annual Review of Criminology, 5(1), 43-66. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-030321-041307
Legewie, Joscha, & Fagan, Jeffrey (2019). Aggressive policing and the educational performance of minority youth. American Sociological Review, 84(2), 220-247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122419826020
Lerchundi, Mariana (2020). La violencia policial como “mensaje”: Un abordaje desde la experiencia de jóvenes de Latinoamérica. Hallazgos, 17(34), 23-54. https://doi.org/10.15332/2422409X.5488
Linnemann, Travis; Wall, Tyler, & Green, Edward (2014). The walking dead and killing state: Zombification and the normalization of police violence. Theoretical Criminology, 18(4), 506-527. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480614529455
Mayer-Rieckh, Alexander (2017). Guarantees of non-recurrence: An approximation. Human Rights Quarterly, 39(2), 416-448. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2017.0024
Morgan, Mark Alden; Logan, Matthew William, & Olma, Tayte Marie (2020). Police use of force and suspect behavior: An inmate perspective. Journal of Criminal Justice, 67, 101673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101673
Neocleous, Mark (2000/2010). La fabricación del orden social: Una teoría crítica sobre el poder de la policía. Prometeo Libros.
Neocleous, Mark (2021/2022). Maderos, chusma y orden social: Una teoría crítica del poder policial. Katakrak Liburuak.
Ngozi, Ikenyei (2020). The psychological implications of police violence on road users in Nigeria. Interdisciplinary Journal of African and Asian Studies, 6(2), 170-184.
Piper, Isabel (2006). Obstinaciones de la memoria: La dictadura militar chilena en las tramas del recuerdo [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Rocher, Paul (2021). Gasear, mutilar, someter. Katakrak.
Scott, James (1990/2000). Los dominados y el arte de la resistencia (1° reimp.). Era.
Segato, Rita (2018). Contra-pedagogías de la crueldad. Prometeo Libros.
Serpe, Christine, & Nadal, Kevin (2017). Perceptions of police: Experiences in the trans* community. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 29(3), 280-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2017.1319777
Sewell, Abigail A. (2017). The illness associations of police violence: Differential relationships by ethnoracial composition. Sociological Forum, 32, 975-997. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12361
Sharara, Fablina, & Wool, Eve (2021). Fatal police violence by race and state in the USA, 1980-2019: A network meta-regression. The Lancet, 398(10307), 1239-1255. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01609-3
Simonson, Jocelyn (2016). Copwatching. California Law Review, 104, 391-445. https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38SK27
Soares, Mónica; Barbosa, Mariana; Matos, Raquel, & Mendes, Sílvia (2018). Public protest and police violence: Moral disengagement and its role in police repression of public demonstrations in Portugal. Peace and Conflict, 24(1), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000277
Trautmann, Felix, & Democracia (Eds.) (2018). Os protegemos de vosotros mismos: La política policial. Brumaria.
Universidad Diego Portales (2003). Informe anual sobre derechos humanos en Chile 2003. Autor.
Universidad Diego Portales (2015). Informe anual sobre derechos humanos en Chile 2015. Autor.
Universidad Diego Portales (2017). Informe anual sobre derechos humanos en Chile 2017. Autor.
Valles, Miguel (2014). Entrevistas cualitativas (2a ed.). CIS.
Vasilachis, Irene (Ed.) (2019). Estrategias de investigación cualitativa. Volumen II. Gedisa.
Velásquez, Javier; Fernandez, Catalina, & Reynhout, Scott (2021). Non-lethal? A criminological, criminalistic and legal analysis of the dangers of kinetic energy impact projectiles. Política criminal, 16(32), 524-556. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-33992021000200524
Vitale, Alex (2017/2021). El final del control policial. Capitán Swing.
Ward, Geoff (2015). The slow violence of state organized race crime. Theoretical Criminology, 19(3), 299-314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480614550119
Published
How to Cite
Downloads
Copyright (c) 2024 Tamara Jorquera-Álvarez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
