Disconnected expectations: the problem of self-legitimacy construction among military police officers

The article aims at analyzing the construction of police self-legitimacy from a qualitative research conducted with officers from the Military Police of São Paulo. The objective is to analyze the impact of the officer’s perceptions and expectations toward policing in the legitimacy claimed by them. The work departs from a conception of legitimacy as a dialogic process continually enacted during the contacts with the population. The research consisted of 28 in depth interviews with police officers from 8 districts of São Paulo. The analysis shows a disjunction between the view the officers share about their function and authority and the perception of the population responses to their work. The interviewees show confidence in their authority and appreciation for the work of fighting crime, but perceive a legitimacy deficit in the responses of citizens who often question their authority during stops. They also consider the populations demands excessive and misleading.