Abstract
The second half of the twentieth century witnessed a major change in the organization of urban space and formal social control. An important part of social interactions that had previously occurred in public spaces policed by the police moved to mass private properties policed by private security forces. Faced with this reality, this paper analyzes the foundations and limits of some legal powers used in policing of mass private properties’ users: the deny from entries, the ejections and the searches. The research is based on the empirical study of state norms and on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of 216 cases judged by the Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo and the Tribunal de Justiça do Paraná related to the use of these powers. The results show that the security guards in mass private properties have broader powers than police officers in public spaces. The consequences of this finding are discussed.
Keywords:
Policing; Private security; Mass private property; Legal powers; Abuses