Research on Latin American police: where do we go from here?

Abstract

Studies on policing in Latin America became increasingly frequent during the past 15 years, as a number of political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists from Latin America, the USA, and Europe focused on police reform in the region because of its implications for the consolidation of democratic institutions. This paper focuses on the substance of published or soon‐to‐be published research on Latin American police forces. We will describe some findings of the research that has been carried out and then analyze areas of research that have yet to be explored by researchers. Finally, we will examine whether we (researchers) have made progress in recent years and assess the limits of what we have accomplished.