ARRESTS FOR FLAGRANT OFFENCES AT THE DEFENDANTS’ HOMES: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This article aims to verify the relation between arrest for flagrant offences and the protection against arbitrary interference on one’s home, based, at first, on the dispositions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, the American Convention on Human Rights and of the Brazilian Constitution. Subsequently, the constitutionality and legality of warrantless searches and arrests for flagrant offences at the defendant’s home is discussed, based on the landmark decision issued in 2015 by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court and the following rulings by the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice. After that, all arrests for flagrant offences occurred in Salvador, Bahia, from January to April 2018 are analyzed, in search for information about the neighborhoods where they happened, the type of crime, the existence of a search warrant or of an authorization by the resident, and the allegations made by the police to justify entering the defendant’s home. In conclusion, in cases regarding domestic violence, the police used its power to enter the defendant’s home lawfully. On the other hand, the drug-related crimes showed potential cases of abuse of power by the police.

Keywords
Arrest for flagrant offences; home; criminal selectivity; drug trafficking; domestic violence