The impact of administrative disciplinary proceedings on military police officers in São Paulo

Abstract

Studies on police institutions have argued that the internal treatment given to agents contributes to define how these agents will treat the communities to which they provide services. Brazil’s main police force has a military structure and formal ties with the Armed Forces. These military characteristics include career structure, regulations, manuals, and disciplinary regiments either copied or adapted from the Army. In this work, we analyse data from a survey applied to 298 military police officers stationed in the city of São Paulo. Using Structural Equation Modelling, we analysed whether, among the police officers who answered a Disciplinary Administrative Proceeding, their evaluation of having been granted the right to speak, treated with respect during the process, and a fair outcome at the end impact their perceptions about their relationship with peers, superiors, and their views on organizational justice. Our findings reveal that respectful treatment during the proceeding was more important than a favourable outcome, and the perception of having been treated with respect during the Disciplinary Administrative Proceeding positively impacts their views about their superiors and organizational justice. These findings help us to reflect on the impacts of the militarization of Public Security on internal relationships as well as the importance of procedural justice within this context.