The study aimed at identifying social representations about professionalization of civilian policemen and their relations with the increment and maintenance of the democratic State. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied to a sample of police agents and investigators, focusing on professionalization at personal, institutional and political levels. Representational elements identified were: 1) lack of investment in the institution; 2) subservience of the police force to conservative technical groups; 3) professionalization seen as the acquisition of technical contents that aim at financial gains and criminal classification of socially excluded segments. The study concludes that those elements act as obstacles to implementing and maintaining the rule of law in the state of Espírito Santo.
social representation; professionalization; democracy; civil police; violence control