Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, the Federal Constitution establishes eight law enforcement institutions - seven titulars and one auxiliar. The titular institutions are: the

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

, the Federal Highway Police, the

Federal Railroad Police The Brazilian Federal Railroad Police (US English) or Federal Railway Police (British English) () is a police agency founded in 1852 which is responsible for patrols and security on federal railways in Brazil. According to Federal Marshalls, the ...

, the Federal Penal Police, the State Military Police and Fire Brigade, the State Civil Police and the State Penal Police. Of these, the first four are affiliated to federal authorities and the latter three are subordinated to state governments. These public safety institutions are part of the Executive branch of either federal or state government. Apart from these eight institutions, there are others which affiliate to municipal authorities: the

Municipal Guards Municipal Guards (), also called the Municipal Civil Guards (''Guardas Civis Municipais'', singular: ''Municipal Civil Guard''), are the Municipal police forces of municipalities (cities) of Brazil. They are subordinated to the municipality mayo ...

. According to Minister

Alexandre de Moraes Alexandre de Moraes (; born 13 December 1968) is a Brazilian jurist, former politician, former president of the Superior Electoral Court and currently justice of the Supreme Federal Court. Moraes was appointed to the Supreme Court by President M ...

of the

Supreme Federal Court The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...

, "...the Municipal Guards are inserted in public safety as the auxiliary and related body of public security force..." Federal law 13,022 (in effect since August 8, 2014) gave them '' de facto'' and ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' police attributions. According to the Supreme Federal Tribunal, Law enforcement forces with an obligation to maintain public safety by Brazilian law are the ones listed in article 144 of the Federal Constitution's

Caput A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may not ...

, that is, the first seven aforementioned forces. As a new force cited in the Federal Constitution Article 144, Eighth Paragraph; the guards act in support and complement - without a relationship of subordination with them. In case of criminal occurrence (in

flagrante delicto ''In flagrante delicto'' (Latin for "in blazing offence"), sometimes simply ''in flagrante'' ("in blazing"), is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence (compare ). The colloquial "caught ...

), Guards forward the occurrence to the Civil and/or Federal police. There are two primary police functions: maintaining order and law enforcement. When criminal offences affect federal entities, federal police forces carry out those functions. In the remaining cases, the state police forces undertake police activities.

History

The first groups assigned with security duties in Brazilian territory date back to the early sixteenth century. Small, incipient units were designated in the Brazilian coastline, with the main function of fending off hostile foreign invaders. In 1566, the first police investigator of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

was recruited. By the seventeenth century, most " capitanias" already had local units with law enforcement functions. On July 9, 1775 a Cavalry Regiment was created in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

for maintaining order. At the time, intense gold mining had attracted attention and greed of explorers, generating tensions in the area. In 1808, the Portuguese royal family relocated to Brazil, due to the French invasion of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. King João VI sought to reshape the administrative structure of the colony. Among several reforms, he established the "Intendência Geral de Polícia" (General Police Intendancy), which merged police units with investigative functions, call currently of Civil Police. He also created a Military Guard with police functions on 13 May 1809. This is considered a predecessor force of local military police units. Later, in 1831, when independence had already been declared, each province started organizing its local "military police", with order maintenance tasks. On 31 January 1842, law 261 was enacted, reorganizing the investigative offices, the current "civil police". The first federal police force, the

, was created in 1852. Finally, in 1871, law 2033 separated police and judicial functions, creating the general bureaucratic structure and mechanisms still adopted nowadays by local police forces. In 1944, a federal police institution was created. The current Federal Police department was conceived on November 16, 1964. During the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

, some

political police 300px, East_German.html" ;"title="Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German">Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 19 ...

organizations were maintained, such as the

DOI-CODI The Departamento de Operações de Informações — Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna (DOI-CODI; ) was the Brazilian intelligence and political repression agency during the military dictatorship of 1964–85. This period started on Ma ...

Primary functions

Law enforcement and maintaining order are the two primary functions of Brazilian police units. In Brazilian Law, maintaining order is considered a preventive effort whereby police troopers patrol the streets to protect citizens and discourage criminal activity. Law enforcement consists of criminal investigation after an offence. Prevention and investigation in Brazil are divided between two distinct police organizations. State "military police" forces only have order maintenance duties. Correspondingly, "civil police" institutions are responsible solely for crime investigation. However, at the federal level, the Federal Police is commissioned with both preventive and investigative functions of federal crimes. See also
"Brazilian Federal Constitution in English"
text translated to English (unofficial). Accessed September 5, 2007.

Federal institutions

There are four federal police institutions in Brazil: the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the Federal Railway Police, and the Federal Penal Police. * The

, officially the ''Departamento de Polícia Federal'' investigates of crimes against the Federal Government or its organs and companies, combats international drug trafficking and terrorism, and conducts immigration and border control (including airport and seaport policing). It is directly subordinated to the

Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) The Ministry of Justice and Public Security (), previously known as Ministry of Justice () and Ministry of Justice and Citizenship (), is a cabinet-level federal ministry in Brazil. The current minister is Ricardo Lewandowski. Divisions and ...

. *The Federal Highway Police has the main function of patrolling federal

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

s. It maintains order, but does not investigate crime. * The Federal Railway Police, is the third and last component of the federal police force. Its main function is

patrolling Patrolling is a military tactic. Small groups or individual units are deployed from a larger formation to achieve a specific objective and then return. The tactic of patrolling may be applied to ground troops, armored units, naval units, and c ...

the federal railway system. It does not investigate crime, solely focusing on maintaining order. As of 2022, the agency is not functional. * The Federal Penal Police was created by the Federal Constitutional Amendment number 104 (in effect since December 4th, 2019), and its officers originate from the bodies of federal prison agencies.

State institutions

There are three types of state police institutions: the

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

Military Firefighters Corps In Brazil, the Military Firefighters Corps () are military public security forces, responsible for civil defense, firefighting and search and rescue inside the federative units. Since 1915, it has been a military reserve force and an auxiliary fo ...

, the Civil Police and the State Penal Police. *The ''Military Police and Fire Brigade'' are charged with maintaining order. Military police patrols the streets and imprison suspects, either handing them over to Civil Police custody or, in case of federal crimes, to the Federal Police. It is a "militarized" institution (gendarmerie) because it is based on military principles of hierarchy, uniform, discipline, and ceremony. However, the body is not a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces. It is described by the constitution as an "auxiliary force of the Brazilian Army in time of war". The Military Fire Brigade, in general, is a part of the Military Police, although it does not perform traditional policing duties. It is subordinated to the state government. However, in the States of

and

, the Military Fire Brigade is an autonomous military corporation, part of State Department of Civil Defense. *The ''Civil Police'' has criminal law enforcement duties and investigates crimes committed in violation of

Brazilian criminal law The Brazilian criminal justice system comes from the civil law of Western Europe, in particular Portuguese law, which derives from Roman law. The earliest legal documents in Brazil were land grants and charters dating to the early 16th century, ...

. It does not patrol the streets and generally does not wear uniforms. Like the Military Police, it is subordinated to the state government. *The State Penal Police, like its sister federal agency, was created by the Federal Constitutional Amendment number 104 (December 4th, 2019), and its officers originate from the bodies of state prison agencies.

Municipal institutions

The

( singular: Guarda Municipal), also called the Municipal Civil Guards (Guardas Civis Municipais, singular: Guarda Civil Municipal), are the security forces of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Brazil. Created in the time of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...

, the guardsmen are subordinated to the municipality

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. Organized as a

Municipal police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive fundi ...

and trained as a civilian uniformed agency, the city guards are responsible to police the municipal parks, properties, installations and the interior of municipal councils and city halls, according to the Brazilian Federal Constitution. Their patrols are called ''rondas'' (''English for'' rounds) and there are 1,200 municipalities with Municipal Guards with more than 120,000 operatives according with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. They are treated as police officers by the former president of the IPA (

International Police Association The International Police Association (IPA) is a worldwide fraternal police organization. The IPA operates as a non-governmental organization, Non-Governmental Organization open to active duty or retired members of the Police, police force. M ...

) Brazilian section, Mr. George Henry Millard. The former Brazilian Minister of Justice and former governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Mr.

Tarso Genro Tarso Fernando Herz Genro (born 6 March 1947) is a Brazilian politician from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. An associate of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Genro was a leader of the Workers' Party (PT) in the 2000s. Biography Early ye ...

, asked for them to be given more jurisdiction for their operatives, and especially for their official recognition by Brazil as

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

workers.

Other security forces

*The

National Public Security Force The National Public Security Force (, FNSP) was created in 2004 and is headquartered in Brasília, in the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District, as a joint cooperation of various Brazilian Public Safety forces, co-ordinated by the ''Na ...

, officially the ''Força Nacional de Segurança Pública'', was created by presidential decree 5.289 on November 29, 2004. It is not a security force ''per se''. Rather, it is a federal program of cooperation among all Brazilian police forces for situations of emergency or exceptional nature. *''Army, Navy and Air Force police units'' are not to be confused with the state Military Police. These are internal security units of each Armed Forces branch. They do not have general civil order maintenance or law enforcement functions. Other internal units may be created for protection of particular agencies or administrative entities, such as the guards of legislative houses, which do not have public safety functions. Nevertheless, in times of emergency, the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

has been called upon to maintain order, most notably in

. There are

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

corps for each of the

Brazilian Armed Forces The Brazilian Armed Forces (, ) are the unified Military, military forces of the Brazil, Federative Republic of Brazil. Consisting of three Military branch, service branches, it comprises the Brazilian Army (including the Brazilian Army Aviati ...

: Army Police () for the

, Navy Police () for the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, and Air Force Police () for the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. *The

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, the Federal Senate and the state level

legislatures A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

keep

security police Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutio ...

agencies of their own, similar to the

capitol police Capitol police in the United States are agencies charged with the provision of security police services for various state agencies, but especially state legislatures. Capitol police may function as part of the state police or may be an independe ...

forces in the United States. *The security forces of the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

are at times also referred to as police.

Entry qualification

Access to all positions under any military police forces encompasses written knowledge tests, previous and further medical exams, physical strength, agility and endurance tests and, finally, psychological interviews and evaluation. When approved on all tests, the candidate will be considered ''fit to military police service'' and admitted in special training courses (CTSP, to graduate soldiers, and the CFO, to graduate aspiring high-ranked officials). There's a minimum entry age of 18 years and, with few variations, a maximum entry age of 30 years. Candidates to military police lower ranks, such as 2nd class soldier (entry level), must meet a minimum of high school education. In the Civil Police as well as in the

, police commissioners ("delegados") are responsible for coordinating and conducting all criminal investigations, with very similar functions and powers of those held by instruction magistrates or prosecutors in other legal systems. For that reason, those police commissioners are required to hold a full degree in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and have law practicing or law enforcement experience of at least three years.

Misconduct

Reports of

police misconduct Police misconduct is inappropriate conduct and illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Types of misconduct include among others: sexual offences, false confession, coerced false confession, intimidation, ...

, such as brutality and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

, have harmed the reputation of police institutions in Brazil, especially state forces. Violence against suspects and extrajudicial executions are known to be employed by police. In the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the Military Police has been involved in several controversial massacres of civilians, typically in poor neighborhoods where high-profile criminals tend to hide. There have also been massacres in prison facilities. One of the most notorious cases is the Carandiru massacre of 1992. Torture is still commonly used as means of questioning and punishing individuals. Brazil’s corrections system is a huge problem for the country and it severely affects the overall well-being of its people. There are a lot of problems relating to violence, gangs and the way the government has been handling the problems. Brazil’s corrections system is under the prison administration called Departamento Penitenciário Nacional (DEPEN), and the head of this prison administration is Renato Campos Pinto de Vitto. The "

favelas Favela () is an hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Morro da Providência, Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de J ...

" (slums or shantytowns) in Brazil have many criminal gangs within them that protect individual favelas from other rival gangs and law enforcement. The government has been seen as "ineffective" towards criminal activity within favelas and Brazil as a whole such as trafficking of humans and drugs, kidnapping, and robberies. Corruption and crime levels within Brazil remain high and Bolsonaro's administration has aimed to help decrease these levels with the help of the police. Bolsonaro mentioned on his own social media page that criminals "should be" attacked by police officials, which can aid to the decrease in crime, thus creating a larger distrust towards law enforcement in Brazil. As of December 2017, the prison population in Brazil was at a total of 668,914, and when compared to a prison population rate per 100,000, the total is 332 per 100,000 people. The number of institutions Brazil has regarding their corrections system is 1,449.Brazil’s Correctional System http://prisonstudies.org/country/brazil The official capacity of the institutions is 404,509 people which is many more than they are supposed to be able to house.Brazil’s Correctional System
/ref> In 2000, 232,755 people were incarcerated in Brazil. In 2016, 644,575 people were incarcerated. As of 2017, the

President of Brazil The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...

, aimed to build 30 prisons that year to tackle the overcrowding crisis of their institutions.Brazil Aims to Build 30 Prisons This Year to Tackle Crisis. January 17, 2017.
/ref> Brazil’s prisons are 50% over capacity, and most of the prisons are state-government run. The prisons are heavily controlled by gangs, drugs, guns and other contraband entering the prisons regularly. Many residents of favelas do not trust law enforcement because in 2008, the police killed an average of three people for every twenty-three people they arrested in Brazil. Crime levels are high due to

extreme poverty Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

levels and law enforcement refusing to patrol favelas. One of the more recent riots occurred between Brazil’s most powerful gang, First Capital Command, and their rival, Red command. First Capital Command slaughtered 26 other inmates at the Alcaçuz prison in the state of

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", refe ...

. President Temer wants to build these new prisons to separate non-violent criminals from the dangerous ones to prevent recruitment into organized crime. Since a big part of their prison population problems are the gangs, President Temer has also said that Brazil will be more cooperative with neighboring countries to try to reduce gangs funded by drug trafficking. There is such bad overcrowding, some are close to three times their actual capacity. The frequent use of pepper spray, tear gas, noise bombs and rubber bullets has been documented, as have severe beatings and kicking by the prison personnel on the inmates.Brazil Must Address Prison Overcrowding and Implement Measures Against Torture. August 14, 2015.
/ref> The prison personnel are also equipped with assault rifles, shotguns and handguns to protect themselves from the violent events that happen in their prisons and also to keep order of the super overcrowded prisons where inmates could easily overcome the employees.