Apresentação

Paula began her professional life at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in a pioneering project to implement Social Work in Police Stations in the state of Rio de Janeiro (1984-1990). This experience gave rise to an interest in understanding the complex police work, especially those who performed it - the civil and military police, which was provided by the research carried out in the context of the master's, doctoral and post-doctoral degrees. As a researcher and professor in the Department of Social Policy at UFRJ (1990-2019), she sought to discuss public security as a springboard for reflecting on the State, individuals and professional groups, especially in Brazilian society. Currently, retired from UFRJ, she has been (since 2019) the editor of the Brazilian Journal of Public Security, a publication of the Brazilian Forum on Public Security.

Associate professor at the Department of Sociology and researcher at the Center for Crime and Public Security Studies (CRISP), both at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro - IUPERJ, a Master's degree and an undergraduate degree in Public Administration from the João Pinheiro Foundation and a law degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. She was a visiting researcher at the University of Florida, the University of Groningen and Texas State University.