ABSTRACT
In this article, we analyze the relationship between people’s perceptions of police action and fear of crime. Police action was assessed based on the following aspects: presence and quality of policing on public roads, witnessing police actions, establishing contact with the police, trust in the police, quality of police conduct, quality of police services and police violence. For this, we used the data from the District Victimization Survey, conducted in 2015 by the Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District. It has been found that the most important aspect for reducing fear of crime is the presence of police, especially foot patrol. Another important factor to reduce fear is the confidence of the population in the police, especially in the Military Police. Finally, it is clear that the population legitimizes police violence when directed to the other, especially the one in relation to which there is prejudice, whereas violence is not perceived as legitimate when the person himself can be victimized.
fear of crime; police; trust; police violence; Distrito Federal