Original translation in Portuguese of a debate originally published in 2014. Translated by Francisco Thiago Rocha Vasconcelos and Silviana Fernandes Mariz The text is the translation of debate regarding the relationship between anthropology and police organizations, starring Jennie M. Simpson, American anthropologist linked to the American Anthropological Association (AAA), and Wilson Pena-Pinzon, Colombian anthropologist at the Universidad Externado de Colombia (UExternado, Bogota, Colombia). The discussion took place on the blog Anthropoliteia. We believe that the two points of view -- the first, more optimistic about the benefits of applied anthropology, the second, more critical -- offer a comparative view on different proposals for binding between anthropologists and cops on the American continent.