Police brutality and torture similarities and differences

Abstract

Numerous specifics of police violence, and above all the characteristics of the perpetrator and the circumstances under which such actions are undertaken, make research of this phenomenon problematic, but also challenging. In addition to the problem of practical nature, researchers of this phenomenon may also encounter some conceptual limitations, especially in terms of defining the subject of research. Hence, our aspiration was to re-examine some of the existing perceptions of police violence, and above all brutality and torture, as its most indicative forms. To this end, we pointed out some common characteristics, as well as the essential differences between these two phenomena, all in order to eliminate certain doubts in their interpretation, but also how to find the most acceptable determinations, which would be an important basis for defining the subjects of some future scientific research into police violence. Specifically, brutality and torture have the following common characteristics: the status of the perpetrator, the circumstances of the execution, the act of execution, the form of guilt (the vindication of the perpetrator) and the intention. In contrast, these two phenomena are distinguished by some important differences, namely: the purpose of use; the cause of execution, the location of the event, the reaction (level of tolerance), and the responsible person.

Brojne specifičnosti policijskog nasilja čine istraživanje ove pojave problematičnim, ali i izazovnim poduhvatom. Pored problema praktične prirode, istraživači ovog fenomena mogu se susresti i sa nekim konceptualnim ograničenjima, posebno u smislu definisanja predmeta istraživanja. Otuda je i naša težnja bila da u ovom radu preispitamo neka od postojećih shvatanja policijskog nasilja, a pre svih brutalnosti i torture, kao njegovih najindikativnijih izraza. Razmatrajući zajedničke karakteristike, ali i suštinske razlike između ove dve pojave, namera nam je da otklonimo određene nedoumice u njihovom tumačenju, ali i da pronađemo što prihvatljivija određenja koja bi predstavljala bitan oslonac u definisanju predmeta nekih budućih naučnih istraživanja nasilja policije. Zaključak koji smo iz te analize izveli jeste da brutalnost i tortura poseduju sledeće zajedničke karakteristike: status izvršioca, okolnosti izvršenja, radnja izvršenja, oblik krivice (vinost izvršioca) i namera. Nasuprot tome, ove dve pojave je moguće razlikovati prema sledećim karakteristikama: svrha (cilj) upotrebe, povod izvršenja, mesto (lokacija) dešavanja, reakcija (nivo tolerancije) i nosilac odgovornosti.