About the Journal
Focus and Scope
Cadernos de Segurança Pública is a publication by Instituto de Segurança Pública that features original and unpublished contributions, in the form of articles, interviews, and reviews. The journal adopts scientific language and promotes the exchange of ideas, exploring various aspects of public security, such as: criminality, the management and implementation of public policies, violence, policing practices, training and professional training and development, police investigation, social participation, and institutions within the criminal justice system. The periodical accepts contributions from different knowledge areas, including anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, statistics, business administration, law, police science and other related disciplines.
Publication Frequency
The journal is published annually and accepts submissions on a rolling basis, with no specific thematic focus for publication.
Open Access Policy
Cadernos de Segurança Pública provides immediate and free access to all of its content, with no registration required and no submission, access, or publication fees.
Since its launch in 2009, the journal has provided free and immediate access to its content, promoting the dissemination and democratization of scientific knowledge. Until 2024, however, the journal did not have a formal licensing policy governing the use and reuse of its published content. As of 2025, as part of its adoption of good editorial practices, Cadernos de Segurança Pública has adopted a formal open access policy, making its published content available under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC).
The license sets out the conditions for sharing, copying, distributing, adapting and reusing the content, including proper attribution of authorship and acknowledgment of the original publication in the journal. Commercial use is not permitted. All content published from 2025 onward under the CC BY-NC 4.0 License is immediately and freely available, with no embargo period.
Peer Review Policy
- All submissions received are presented to the Editorial Committee for preliminary assessment, which verifies the relevance of the proposal and its compliance with the editorial policy of Cadernos de Segurança Pública. This initial stage possesses a strictly formal nature and consists of assessing whether the manuscript complies with the editorial policies, the Code of Ethics and the guidelines for submitting papers. In addition, the originality of the content is checked using the CopySpider and Plagius software programmes, in order to identify possible plagiarism cases and similarities with previously published texts. The Editorial Committee will inform authors by email if their submission is rejected.
- Articles accepted at the first stage are sent for peer review using the double-blind model, guaranteeing the anonymity of authors and reviewers during the process. Each article is reviewed, at least, by two ad hoc reviewers, outside the journal’s editorial team, who must hold at least a PhD and have recognised expertise in the subject area. Reviewers analyse the manuscript’s compliance with the journal’s editorial policy, its originality and scientific relevance, the theoretical and methodological consistency in relation to the proposed objectives, the quality and structure of the text, the currency of the bibliography and the theoretical framework employed, the contribution of the findings to the field of public security, among other criteria. For more details, consult the reviewer form. The reviews received may result in one of four recommendations: a) accept the article without revisions; b) accept subject to minor revisions; c) resubmitting to review following substantive revisions; or d) rejection. Acceptance of a manuscript requires at least two favorable and concordant peer reviews. In the event of conflicting reviews, a third reviewer will be consulted. If disagreement persists, the Editorial Committee will consider the case, and the final decision will rest with the Editor-in-Chief. Reviewers’ reports will form the basis for the editorial decision. In cases of minor revisions (item ‘b’) and re-submission (item ‘c’), the authors should seek to address the reviewers’ comments and highlight the modifications in the body of the text. Optionally, authors may include a letter setting out the justifications or details, to be sent to the editors and reviewers. All the authors will receive the reviews via email, with the comments of the reviewers and, when applicable, of the Editorial Committee or the editors. The average review time for the papers is up to six months.
- After the acceptance to publication, the text undergoes spelling, grammatical, and stylistic review (copy desk and copyediting). The authors should approve the revised version before the publication. In case that there is no response to the suggestions within the stipulated deadline, the alterations will be considered accepted. After this stage, the text proceeds to the layout and final composition. From this point on, no additions or modifications will be permitted, except in exceptional circumstances. The editors reserve the right to make adjustments or cuts to align the text with the journal's guidelines, always respecting the original content and the style of the authors, who will be consulted previously.
Ethics Statement and Code of Scientific Ethics
Each manuscript submitted to Cadernos de Segurança Pública will be reviewed by the Editorial Committee with the aim of preventing violations of scientific ethics and good editorial practices. The journal will require from the authors, reviewers, and editors the adequate documentation and additional clarification when necessary, under penalty of non-acceptance of the contribution. During the review process, editors and reviewers may request evidence from authors regarding specific ethical aspects, including, where applicable, details on Research Ethics Committee approval, data collection and storage methods, procedures for protecting sensitive information, and guarantees of participant anonymity. The journal is also committed to maintaining the transparency and integrity of the editorial process, promoting the publication of works consistent with the principles of Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência (SBPC) and aligned to the guidelines with Guia de Boas Práticas para o Fortalecimento da Ética na Publicação Científica do SciELO. Proposals involving bad faith, misuse of copyright, or plagiarism will not be accepted and may result in legal disputes. The acceptance of manuscripts and reviews is contingent upon compliance with these requirements.
Plagiarism Policy and Editorial Misconduct
Cadernos de Segurança Pública team upholds editorial ethics regarding manuscripts submitted for publication and works to combat falsification, data manipulation, and plagiarism. For this, we use the softwares CopySpider and Plagius to verify the similarity of the content, accepting for review articles with a similarity index of up to 5%. Cases of plagiarism, in any form, will not be tolerated. It is the authors' responsibility to ensure the originality and novelty of the manuscript, correctly citing excerpts from other works. Illustrations, images, graphs, and other figures from external sources must be duly credited or accompanied by authorization from the copyright holders. If a similarity of more than 5% is detected without proper referencing, the relevant passages will be highlighted, and the manuscript will be returned to the authors. We also rely on the collaboration of reviewers to inform the editorial team of any significant similarity to works and articles already published or submitted to other journals.
Conflict of Interests Policy
Authors may disclose any potential conflicts of interest at the moment of submission of a manuscript. It is considered a conflict of interest any factor of personal reason, professional or financial that may compromise the impartiality of the researcher. Examples of conflicts of interests include:
a) Support for companies interested in the research findings;
b) Personal relationships that could affect objectivity in the review or publication of the material;
c) Professional rivalries that could compromise the impartial review of a submitted manuscript.
The mere existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply that a manuscript will be rejected. However, if an undeclared conflict is identified at a later date, the editor will take appropriate action, which may include publishing a correction or, in more serious cases, retracting the article.
Funding Statement
The authors may inform the sources of financial support for completion of work, including financial agencies names, contract numbers (if applicable) and a brief description of the role played by each funding source in the study.
Fees Policy
Cadernos de Segurança Pública does not charge submission fees, article processing charges (APCs), or publication fees.
Copyright
For volumes 1–16 (2009–2024), copyright in the published works was held by the journal. During this period, authors entered into copyright assignment agreements with the journal, in accordance with the editorial policy in effect at the time. Beginning with Volume 17 (2025), as part of Cadernos de Segurança Pública’s adoption of good editorial practices, authors retain copyright in their works and grant the journal the right of first publication.
Licensing (CC BY-NC)
With regard to licensing, until 2024 the journal did not have a formal licensing policy governing the use and reuse of its published content. From 2025, also as part of Cadernos de Segurança Pública’s adoption of good editorial practices, its published content is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC). This license permits the sharing, copying, distribution, adaptation, and reuse of published works, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors, the original publication in the journal is acknowledged, and the other conditions of the license are observed. Commercial use of the content is not permitted.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
Cadernos de Segurança Pública preserves its collection, assuring conservation and permanent access to the published works. The archives will be stored online in a safe space of Instituto de Segurança Pública and the journal adopts the LOCKSS and CLOCKSS systems that ensure the distributed digital preservation and long-term security of published content.
