The National Firearms System (Sinarm) as a System for the Management of Legal possession of Firearms in Brazil: a contribution for Public Policy-Making

• Autor(a) principal: Fonseca, Francisco
• Data de Publicação: 2006
• Outros Autores: Keinert, Ruben, Blikstein, Izidoro, Bueno, Luciano, Storino, Fabio, Sano, Hironobu
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Cadernos Gestão Pública e Cidadania (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/cgpc/article/view/44052

This article analyzes the results of research carried out in 2005 on the functioning of the National Arms System as an instrument for management of information on legal possession of firearms. The research won a competitive grant from the National Secretariat of Public Security (SENASP/ Ministry of Criminal Justice.) It seeks to understand how the SINARM - an entity whose importance increased as a result of the “NO” victory on a national gun control referendum that was conducted in 2005 - can contribute to the existence of public policies for Public Security and particularly, its own efficiency as a system for control and management of legally-owned arms and weapons in Brazil. We look at its connections to public safety policies, to the absence of a “culture of control” in the country and to the multiple causes of deaths by firearms. To lend support to our argument, the research compared the SINARM to analogous systems in other countries, analyzed legislation, carried out interviews with authorities and technicians who manage the system and above all, carried out in loco observation on the way the SINARM works. We conclude that its creation meant progress and that its operation is simple but not particularly reliable or secure; nonetheless, we also maintain that there are ways to deal with such difficulties, since the entity is crucial to the existence of public security policies.