JUSTICE SYSTEM AND POLICE IN THE SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE BRAZILIAN POPULATION

Abstract

The justice system and the police occupy central positions in the organization and regulation of contemporary social life. This study aimed to identify and analyze the structure of the Social Representations of the Brazilian population regarding the police and the justice system, examining their central and peripheral elements, as well as the possible symbolic articulations between these institutions within the context of violence and the organization of social order. A total of 232 participants completed an online questionnaire including sociodemographic questions and two free word association tasks concerning the Justice System and the Police. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and prototypical analysis with the support of the IRaMuTeQ software, and interpreted based on the structural approach of Social Representations Theory. The results show that the social representations of the Police and the Justice System are organized differently, although they share structural elements of criticism, particularly related to racism and corruption. The Police are represented in an ambivalent manner, being recognized as indispensable for security while simultaneously associated with violent and selective practices. The Justice System presents a more consensually negative configuration, structured around perceptions of slowness, inequality, and inefficiency.