Bandits, Victims or Sinners? Negotiating public security provision in Brazil

Who should be protected or punished? And who is responsible for executing punishments or protective measures? The answers to these questions are not straightforward but depend on the ways in which security is understood, performed, and experienced in a particular context. While it is often assumed that police officers are responsible for protecting citizens from violence, in Brazil state security forces instead contribute to a sense of insecurity for stigmatized favela residents. The following text illustrates how assumptions about security provision are publicly debated amongst government officials, community organizations, and church affiliates in the wake of a lethal police operation.