Abstract

DA SILVA LORENZ, Mariana. Training and researching the police in democracy. Diálogos sobre educ. Temas actuales en investig. educ. [online]. 2018, vol.9, n.17. ISSN 2007-2171.

Since 2008 I have studied, from a social science approach, the Argentine Federal Police (PFA). My research deals with the representations that the officials of this institution build around their profession. Given the limitations imposed by institutional regulations and the difficulties described by those who preceded me, I assumed that I was facing a difficult task. However, the creation of the Ministry of National Security in December 2010 determined that researchers interested in studying the functioning of the security forces in our country had novel ways to access them. This research work has both a methodological and an epistemological concern. I will try to reflect on how my object of study has been approached through the social sciences. To do this, it is necessary to take into account that the view generally held of the police as an essentially corrupt and exclusively repressive institution often distorts and limits research. The overlap between the two roles that link me to the PFA, both as a researcher and as a teacher, allowed me to have a broader perspective. My task in police education helped to suspend the beliefs and perspectives that obstructed my observation and interpretation of this institution.

Keywords : Security forces; Training; Research.