Two students from the municipal education network in Rio de Janeiro, suspected of making threats on the internet of attacks against the schools they attend, were taken this Thursday (13) to the police station to provide clarifications, during a joint Civil Police operation. with Rio City Hall. The underage students planned the attacks using fake profiles on social networks. The SME (Municipal Secretary of Education) had been monitoring these cases since last Friday (7).
During the Easter holiday, the city hall and the secretariat exchanged information on the subject with the security forces, in an intelligence work. Since the first notification of threats received by the SME, the two teaching units have received reinforcements from the School Patrol of the Rio Municipal Guard and the Military Police.
The secretariat has a protocol for implementation in all 1,549 schools in situations of threats to the school community. The procedure adopted in these cases of threats that circulate on the Internet is that they are reported by the SME teams to the Civil Police and to the CiberLab (Laboratory of Cybernetic Operations) of the Directorate of Integrated Operations and Intelligence of the Ministry of Justice. From there, an investigation begins.
“Any circumstance that poses a serious threat to our students, faculty and the school community as a whole will be met with a strong reaction from us. We do not want students to be apprehended in any way, but, according to the seriousness of each situation, the appropriate measures will be taken. Ensuring the safety and integrity of our students and professionals is the City Hall’s top priority,” said the Municipal Secretary of Education, Renan Ferreirinha.
The secretariat’s (Niap Interdisciplinary Support Center for School Units) was called upon to offer psychological support to these students. “We want to remind our students that they can count on our socio-emotional support and care at this time. Talk to your teachers, your school, ask for help if you need it. There is a support network and our students need to know that we are here”, said Ferreirinha.
Through social media, Mayor Eduardo Paes commented on the case. “The city of Rio, with state security forces, intercepted threats of violence made by 2 students from the municipal school system. They were taken to the police station. Since the attacks in Blumenau and São Paulo, we created a task force with Civil and Military Police and the Ministry of Justice”.
According to Paes, the task force has been acting, in secret, with the aim of anticipating cases of violence and preventing threats from being carried out. “The teams receive any information from our Education professionals and act intelligently on social networks”, he emphasized.
“In this case, minors used fake profiles to spread threats and promote panic. The two have already begun to be heard by the Civil Police. Schools must be places of protection and welcome. The safety of our students and educators is my absolute priority,” added Paes.
How to report
Complaints about threats of attacks can be made to the Escola Segura channel, created by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in partnership with SaferNet Brasil. The information sent to the channel will be kept confidential and there is no identification of the complainant.
Go to the website to file a complaint. In case of emergency, the advice is to call 190 or the nearest police station.