Nem tudo que é ilegal é imoral: dispositivos morais e práticas de atuação da Polícia Militar do Ceará

Abstract

In a wordplay exchange, the title of this work brings a reinterpretation of a maxim from the dialectic of Law, which states that not everything that is immoral is illegal, and also the central idea of this work. In contemporary societies, the Police are part of the public security apparatus of Nation States. Due to the "social function" officially assigned to them, there is an expectation that the police force will be diligent in enforcing the law. However, it is agreed that behind an apparent strict adherence to legislation, informality (and, often, illegality) play a leading role in the daily operations of the Police. In this work, I revisit the discussion about what apparently seems to be a standard pattern of behavior by military police forces as a whole, which points to the practice of illegalities interwoven with a discourse based on systems of morality that support and legitimize these practices. Certain actions would thus be considered illegal from a legal perspective, but morally justifiable from a police point of view, and continue to shape their actions. From a legitimacy perspective, these agents are guided by the certainty that they are fulfilling their duty. The moral dimension will constitute the central scope of this study, based on in-depth interviews with military police officers and the refinement of analytical issues revealed throughout my research journey within the universe of police work in Ceará. Far from moralizing condemnations, this work distances itself from any denunciatory or normative dimension regarding the conduct of these agents and their practices in question, seeking to problematize and reflect on the complexity of motivations and behaviors that show how certain practices function.