From ‘what does the police do’ to ‘what should we do with the police’: a call to focus on the continuum of police practices

Amid global demands to address police violence, a fundamental question persists: to what extent are police forces reformable, and what should be done about their persistent violent and abusive practices? This paper argues that any attempt at reform must begin with an in-depth understanding of policing at the local, neighbourhood level. Rather than assuming that broad programmes or policies will be effective everywhere, it emphasises the importance of analysing how police practices manifest in specific contexts to assess the feasibility and potential impact of reform efforts. Drawing on ethnographic comparative fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City, this study demonstrates how a community-oriented policing (COP) programme can vary between neighbourhoods. To capture these variations, I introduce a continuum of police practices, which serves as a diagnostic tool to assess the potential for reform at the neighbourhood level. This continuum highlights that while some policing practices align with human rights principles, demonstrating potential for transformation, others are deeply embedded in violent and discriminatory logics, making substantial reform unlikely. By using this framework, policymakers could identify which programmes have the potential to curb abusive practices and which are likely to fail.