2024-07-13 00:44:50
SSP-SP
Secretary of Public Security Guilherme Derrite (in shirt) in Guarujá, during Operation Shield
The lack of transparency and investigation i deaths caused by police
in Brazil the regional representative of the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner criticized for Human rights
, Jan Jarab
. He classified “little transparency” regarding police fatality in the country as a trend.
“Although we have statistics on police deaths, there is a lack of adequate investigation of each of these deaths using the Minnesota Protocol. It is therefore impossible to distinguish the self-defense deaths of police officers from those attributable to unnecessary use or excessive force. “, said Jarab while participating in a hearing organized by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which is linked to the Organization of American States (OAS).
At the meeting, which was held on Friday evening (12), complaints from social movements about the actions of the Brazilian police forces were heard. The UN representative also presented a summary of UN analyzes and an assessment of the government’s actions regarding the problem. Representatives from the federal government, the Judiciary and the Public Ministry were also able to present the measures taken in different areas.
The Minnesota Protocol, cited by Jarab, is a set of guidelines established by the UN to investigate murders to combat extrajudicial executions.
Shield and Summer Operations
The representative of the United Nations cited Operations Escudo (2023) and Verão (2024) carried out by the Military Police of São Paulo as examples of lack of transparency. Both activities were launched in Baixada Santista, on the coast of São Paulo. “As a result of Operation Shield and Operation Summer, in February and March 2024, 28 and 56 died, respectively, without sufficient transparency,” Jarab pointed out.
A member of the Mothers of May movement Débora Maria da Silva accused the police not only of causing death, but also of torturing some of the victims. “The state governor [Tarcísio de Freitas] he decided to restart the operation and kill the boys with extreme cruelty, with torture, tearing the skin of the victims and escaping with pocket knives”, he said about Operation Summer.
For Débora, the state government tries to present the actions as an effort to improve public security in the region, but it has only caused suffering to the poorest populations. “We know that the real objective was to kill poverty. We need an immediate answer to what is happening in Baixada Santista, because it is not possible to conduct an election campaign over black bodies”, he said.
In Rio de Janeiro, a member of the Mães da Baixada Movement, Nívia Raposo, protested against the impact of police operations in communities on the lives of residents. “In regions where operations are taking place, residents like us, caught in the middle of police operations, unable to return to our homes or worried about our children, have a major impact on our mental health, suffering post-traumatic stress, anxiety. , depression and sometimes even suicidal thoughts,” he said.
Government
The coordinator of the Public Security Agreement System, Márcio Júlio da Silva Matos, highlighted the ordinance of the Ministry of Justice that regulates the use of body cameras by police forces, “establishing technical standards for the use and availability of this equipment by the state, in the city and also. by the federal police,” he said.
The deputy general coordinator for Public Security and Human Rights at the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, Bruna Martins Costa, highlighted the activities to support the families of victims of state violence, as well as keeping these facts in mind . “Notices are being drafted regarding the Memory Center for Rio de Janeiro and Baixada Santista, in the state of São Paulo, meeting the demands of mothers’ movements and victims of violence in the state,” he said.
Rio de Janeiro’s Secretariat of Public Security says it “discloses, in a transparent manner, data on deaths caused by State agents” along with other crimes. The information, according to the secretariat’s note, is provided monthly, in an open data format and in a panel that allows us to know the profile of the victims and the methods used.
The Secretariat of Public Security of Bahia said, in a note, “in 2023, the Civil Police recorded the lowest number of violent deaths in the last seven years” in the state. “Compared to 2022, the reduction in the occurrences of homicide, robbery and intentional injury followed by death was the same. In 2024, from January to May, the reduction in murders was 11%”, he added expressed.
Also in a note, the Secretariat of Public Security of São Paulo highlights that the deaths resulting from the intervention of the police are a direct consequence of the violent reaction of the criminals to the police measures, which have effectively combated organized crime throughout the state , including in the Baixada Santista region. “. “The Civil and Military police carry out a rigorous investigation of all incidents, with monitoring of the respective internal affairs bodies, the Public Ministry and the Judiciary”, the text adds.
The note from the São Paulo government also mentions the “bid that is underway to get 12 thousand new equipment which should increase the total number of COPs by 18.5%.” [câmeras operacionais portáteis] available (10,125) and to extend the current coverage of 52% of the territory of São Paulo”.
“In addition to this, the SSP has invested in the training of its police, in the acquisition of equipment with a less aggressive capacity and in the implementation of public policies aimed at reducing the lethality of the police”, the note concludes.
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