Police authority, laughter and politeness – notes on the interactions between policemen and citizens in Operation Lei Seca in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This paper discusses the exercise of police authority in “Operação Lei Seca” aimed at curbing DUI in Rio de Janeiro. Two aspects of the description made by these policemen are presented in detail: the absence of ostensive signs of authority (the uniform and the rifle) and the use of politeness. These depictions are then combined with fieldwork data in which citizens and policemen resort to jocose provocations in their interactions. Analysis dwells on a theoretical model proposed for the understanding of this form of exercising police authority, which is based on theses on authority, theories of laughter and interpretations about the relationship between politeness and violence.