What Should Brazilian Officers Be Trained For? A Mixed-Methods Study

This study is the initial step toward a contextual training approach for police force. It addresses the question “Which specific use of force situations should officers be trained for in Brazil?”. To date, the literature has offered little discussion of the contexts in which police force is required, and virtually no discussion of the Brazilian reality. This study employed a mixed-methods convergent design with three independent components, each examining a different facet of the main research question. It merged findings from a national online questionnaire of police officers, an analysis of a random sample of reports from one large Brazilian police department, and a panel of experienced officers and instructors. Most officers (81%) reported passive resistance in the preceding year; 65% reported any type of assault, most commonly an unarmed suspect advancing aggressively (52%), while sharp-weapon assaults (25%), firearm incidents (20%), and weapon-grab attempts (20%) were less frequent but relevant among potentially lethal incidents. Open-ended responses and panelists converged on stop-and-search procedures, off-duty incidents, crowds with alcohol, and legal uncertainty as central concerns. Police reports corroborated this profile: a preceding vehicle pursuit, suspect intoxication, drug apprehension, officer-initiated contact, and bystanders on scene predicted higher force severity, whereas the number of suspects did not. Firearm-discharge and robbery calls showed elevated risk per call; disturbance calls appeared high-volume rather than high-risk. Implications for police training are discussed.