Does democracy protect all citizens from police violence? The answer is complex. This paper examines whether democratic institutions are less likely to use torture against three groups: political dissidents, criminals, and marginalized communities. Using the Ill-Treatment and Torture (ITT) Data, we analyze this question through logistic regressions with random effects.

Victim Group Differences:

The findings reveal that democracies afford significantly better protection from violence to political dissidents than other regimes. However, the level of protection against criminals is much weaker in democracies compared to non-democracies.

Regarding marginalized communities, there's no statistically significant difference between democratic and non-democratic countries with respect to police use of torture.

Implications: The results challenge the common assumption that democracy universally protects citizens from state violence. Instead, it appears that democratic institutions primarily safeguard political rights while offering less protection against other forms of institutionalized violence.