POLICE AUTHORITY:

BRIEF REFLECTIONS ON THE USE OF THE TERM IN THE BRAZILIAN POLICE SYSTEM

Abstract

The article examines the concept of police authority in Brazil, addressing its evolution and the use of the term within the legal and administrative systems. The main objective is to analyze the attribution of the quality of police authority to diferent police agents, considering the understanding that all public servants working in public security, each in their specifc role, exercise police authority. The study discusses the distinction between administrative and judicial police, and how preventive and repressive activities often overlap in practice. The fnal considerations indicate that police authority should be understood as an attribute shared by various public security agents, serving as a fundamental concept for the efciency of the Brazilian police system. The article argues for a more fexible and integrated view of police functions, based on contemporary demands for security and efciency. The methodology employed was exploratory research, with a qualitative-quantitative approach, including bibliographic and documentary research, as well as the analysis of judicial decisions and specialized public security doctrine.