ABSTRACT
The meagre resources made available at state and municipal level for public security in Brazil are channelled much less into protecting vulnerable groups such as children, women, the LGBTQ community and those living in deprived areas, and more on combatting armed gangs who are involved in drug trafficking. As the police strike in Vitoria demonstrated, Brazil’s public security woes are not restricted to the megacities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, despite the much higher profile these cities enjoy in the national and international media. One of the strategies used by Padilha in the Tropa de elite films to claim authenticity and therefore a level of authority to voice an opinion on controversial issues is building a fictional narrative around a series of real-life events relating to public security. Diogo Fraga forces a public enquiry, at which Nascimento gives evidence and helps to put a number of politicians and police officers behind bars.
