OURISMANDCRIME:THEORETICALANDPRACTICALFOUNDATIONSOFPUBLICSECURITYAPPLIEDTOTOURISM(SPAT)

With the aim of ensuring the protection of tourists and everyone who circulates or works in areas of tourist interest, it is urgent to establish a new perspective on Public Security Applied to Tourism (PSAT). It is observed that, due to the absence of precise and integrated statistical data —which combines tourism and public security information —and the lack of scientific knowledge production on this topic, police training and qualification courses, as well as extra-corpore (outside the police context)technical and higher education courses end up adopting generalist approaches, failing to consider the complexities of the tourism ecosystem and thus not offering adequate solutions to the sector’s demands. Using a qualitative, bibliographic and exploratory methodology, the study analyzes concepts such as crime, offense, deviant behavior and criminological theories applied to tourism. The research advocates greater integration among the State, private sector and academia to develop public policies and specific content, build joint strategies and solutions to make destinations safer and more attractive, and concludes that investing in the training of qualified police officers and structuring PSAT as a State policy helps reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen tourists’ perception of safety, generate better recommendations for host cities and reinforce tourism as a vector of social and economic development. Keywords: Public Safety; SPAT; Tourist Policing; Criminology; Security Perception.