Police violence in many parts of the world as an expression of racism 

In Sharpeville, South Africa, police opened fire on March 21, 1960, killing 69 people.

This happened during a march against laws that restricted the right of black people to come and go during the apartheid regime.

This bloodbath went down in history as the Sharpeville Massacre.

Six years later, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21 as the International Day for Eliminating Racial Discrimination in Resolution 2142 (XXI), “Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.”

Yet, in 2023, killings by police remain one of the most violent forms of racism in several parts of the world.

In the Brazilian state of São Paulo, police killed more than one person every day in 2022, a total of 414 cases, according to the Secretariat of Public Security.

Of these, 62.5% were identified as black people.

In January of this year, there were 37 deaths classified as “police-involved.”

“Historically, a certain tolerance for police abuse by the authorities has become entrenched,” explains Dennis Pacheco, a Brazilian Public Security Forum researcher.

For him, one element that does not preclude police violence, reflected in the high number of deaths, is the lack of convictions, even in cases with clear evidence of illegality.

“It is common for prosecutors to bring charges of abuse of police power in cases where police officers kill people. Regardless of witness testimony and evidence gathered during the course of the investigation, whether it’s ballistics evidence or evidence from the scene,” he adds.

According to the researcher, the violence is based on the racism that contaminates the entire Brazilian society and is ultimately directed against the black population.

“In this way, the black person is understood as a possible thief, a possible perpetrator of violence, which is much more widespread in society than the police perspective,” he points out.

For the political advisor of the “Iniciativa Negra por uma Nova Política sobre Drogas,” Juliana Borges, there is a worldwide phenomenon of criminalization of populations. ”

“The idea is that fighting crime guarantees social well-being. When the opposite is true, social welfare is guaranteed by more rights,” she says.

That’s why the death of a black man who was choked to death by police officers in the United States in May 2020 has resonated in different parts of the world, according to Juliana.

“The issue of George Floyd has not only affected us here in Brazil. During the same period, there were also demonstrations against racist police violence in France,” she explains.

The case triggered the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, with numerous protests in the United States that eventually reached other countries with similar issues.

In France, the demonstrations recalled the case of Adama Traoré, a young black man who died after his arrest in 2016.

At the time, the case also sparked outrage and several protests.

“In the same period [after Floyd’s death], there were also demonstrations against police violence in some African countries,” adds Juliana, recalling the actions in Nigeria against the brutality of the Sars (special anti-robbery unit).

According to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Amnesty International, on October 20, 2020, the Nigerian police and army killed 12 people participating in the protests.

In Peru, Amnesty International also accuses the army and national police of using disproportionate force against protests in areas with a predominantly indigenous population in December 2022.

According to the NGO, at least 11 people were killed in the repression of the protests.

According to Juliana, the common link between populations affected by police violence is their membership in groups that are discriminated against and criminalized based on race, origin, or ethnicity.

“Even though racism varies in these societies and plays out in different ways, the fact is that black or racialized people – in the United States, we can also talk about the Arab community and Latin American immigrants – are the populations that are considered dangerous and must be fought,” she explains.

According to the expert, the problem of police violence must be addressed by changing how these entities act, focusing on prevention and guaranteeing rights.

“The most important thing is to discuss the fight against institutional racism, how we can build social control mechanisms, control the use of force, and train police officers to ensure greater security for the population and these officers in performing their duties,” she says.

According to Dennis Pacheco, these changes are possible because of pressure from civil society groups, especially those affected by this violence.

“The pressure comes mainly from social movements. From academics and researchers like me. There has always been this pressure.”

‘The mothers of people murdered by the police have always taken a stand and tried to occupy the decision-making spaces to prevent the repetition of violence to which their children were subjected,” he stresses.

It was this context, according to the researcher, that helped promote institutional changes in the São Paulo police that have reduced the police killing rate, such as the cameras in the uniforms that have been introduced in recent years.

“The introduction of the cameras is part of a series of political and administrative measures that go far beyond a purely technical tool,” he stressed.

In 2019, police officers killed 867 people in the state of São Paulo.

In 2020, the number remained at a similar level – 815.

However, in 2021, when the unified camera program became operational, there was a decrease: 570 people were killed by police officers.

The devices, which record video and audio, were first introduced in the battalions of the military police, which had the highest number of deaths.

São Paulo Police Ombudsman Claudio Aparecido da Silva believes that the living and working conditions of police officers must also be improved to reduce the number of deaths.

“We are concerned about the problem of mortality, but we are also concerned about what causes mortality,” he says.

He says police officers currently suffer from low salaries that force them to work strenuous shifts, even sporadic duties such as security.

Silva explains that it is impossible to determine the number of police officers involved in this type of activity because it is prohibited by law.

Of the deaths caused by police officers last year, 143 occurred when the officers were off duty.

The ombudsman, therefore, advocates not only advancing the debate on violence but also looking at officers’ working conditions.

“The way forward is to advance in technology, in problematizing deaths, in debating how the state can guarantee the lives of civilians.

But we also need to move forward on other issues related to valuing police lives,” he argues.

“A lighter workload, a more qualified salary, a more decent health policy,” he lists.