Public Security Policies and the Criminal Justice System: The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary in National Public Security Plans

Abstract

This article discusses the gap between public security policies and the criminal justice system. Its objective is to examine the configuration of national public security plans and their orientation toward the criminal justice system, with particular emphasis on the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary.

The analysis begins with a discussion of the fundamental right to public security as provided for in the Constitution. It then addresses the expansion of the public security debate, marked by the inclusion of new political actors—namely the federal government, municipalities, and civil society. The study critically examines the National Public Security Plan under the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, the PRONASCI program during the second term of the Lula administration, and the National Public Security Plan under the Temer administration.

Finally, the article explores the interface between public security policies and the criminal justice system, focusing on prevailing criminal policy, the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the exclusion of criminal justice actors from the formulation of public security policies, and the consequences of such a disconnect. It concludes that the exclusion of criminal justice institutions from the design of public security policies cannot disregard the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary in criminal policy, under penalty of policy failure.

The methodology adopted consists of documentary analysis and bibliographic review, based on a public policy approach that considers institutional arrangements, actors, and competencies.