Police and Human Rights Education

Abstract

This interview, conducted by the Education Research Group at the Higher Institute of Police Sciences (ISCP), features Professor Dr. Pedro Demo, professor emeritus at the University of Brasília and a leading authority in the fields of education and human rights. The text examines police training in light of the concept of “learning as authorship”, in which the trainee becomes a producer of knowledge rather than a mere reproducer of procedures. It discusses the applicability of this concept in police academies, highlighting the need for professionals to develop critical and self-critical thinking skills to operate in complex public safety scenarios. It addresses the collective dimension of learning in standardized and hierarchical organizations, proposing that the police institution build its own agency through continuous processes of self reform. It examines the tension between technical neutrality and political training, arguing that human rights constitute concrete experience, not protocol, and that the use of force requires self-criticism and accountability. Finally, the interview proposes a training agenda that moves beyond mere instruction, prioritizes intelligent prevention, and promotes the socioeconomic and cultural inclusion of police officers, integrating theory and practice to transform institutional practices.