Percepciones de la importancia de la policía en jóvenes rurales de Colombia y Panamá

Studies on the perceptions of rural youth about the importance of the police represent a relevant milestone for Colombia and Latin America. In this perspective, the present research aims to understand the perceptions of students from Colombia and Panama in relation to the importance of the police from the representation of global thinking. Methodologically, the study is based on an interpretative paradigm, with a qualitative approach and from the methodology of thematic analysis. The data collected through the “3 Why's” thinking routine from 37 young people from Colombia and 40 from Panama from rural educational institutions were analyzed through matrices and table systems. The results reveal the students' perceptions of the role of the police in the personal, community and social spheres. At the personal level, they refer to security conditions, crime control and citizen protection. At the community level, they refer to social and corporate protection, conflict resolution and community safety. In the social sphere, they refer to law enforcement, risk management, safe justice and corruption. These perceptions depend on the experiences and aspirations of young people, according to the contexts from which they interact. It is concluded that the voices of rural youth contribute to the reconfiguration of the positive relationship between the police and the community in the search for understanding and citizen cooperation, which constitutes a great advance in the recognition of this population group as social actors in their territories.