The federal government is studying the creation of a national program for camera in police uniforms for the first half of this year. The Ministry of Justice confirmed the intention of the Lula government and informed that the program is being designed and new details should be released soon. For the Ministry, this measure would be one of the most efficient to reduce police lethality and to protect the security officers themselves. Attached to the uniforms, the cameras record images of police activities in real time and transmit the data to a central station. This allows the tracking of actions and their storages in the cloud.
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Effects in São Paulo
According to the São Paulo Secretariat of Public Security, “all approaches, inspections, searches, sweeps, accidents and other interactions with the public” are automatically recorded. Implemented in August 2020 and expanded throughout 2021, the cameras are now part of the routine of 179 police units, in 66 of the 134 PM battalions, with more than 10,000 body equipment in use. And since then, deaths committed by military police officers on duty have fallen by 61% and reached the lowest level since 2001. Official data point to the death of 256 people by military police officers on duty in 2022. It is the lowest number in the last two decades. In 2021, 423 cases were reported. In 2020, it had stayed at 659 deaths.
Advances
The implementation of cameras in police uniforms has been debated with increasing force in the country. In addition to São Paulo, 11 other states have already adopted the measure, or at least started tests. Among them are Bahia, which announced the measure earlier this year, and Minas Gerais, where the method is in the testing phase. Acre, Amapá, Ceará, Pará, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, Roraima, Santa Catarina and Tocantins have also adopted the equipment.
Some states are resistant to adopting the measure for all or at least for part of their security officers. In Rio, which already uses the equipment in common battalions, Governor Cláudio Castro (PL) stated in his new mandate that he is against the installation of cameras in the uniforms of elite police officers. According to Castro, the recordings could present the police strategy to criminals, putting the officers’ life at risk, which is questioned by security experts.
At least two more states, Goiás and Sergipe, are charged by bodies such as the Public Ministry to adopt the cameras, and another three are already analyzing the implementation. The government of Espírito Santo informed that it intends to adopt the technology. However, “awaits standardization or guidance, at the national level, so that the model to be adopted is the same as that of all other police forces in the country”.
Our Analysis:
The experiences verified in Brazil and abroad were successful in terms of reducing police lethality, protecting police officers and, even more, had a direct impact on the procedural instruction itself, since, instead of having only the police officer’s statement, now we will have audio and video of what happened. According to experts, reducing police lethality involves supporting the training of officers and the use of instruments that prevent the abusive use of force. In this regard, the use of cameras is considered one of the most efficient policies. According to Colonel Robson Rodrigues, the federal government cannot determine the measure for all police forces. But it has the possibility of inducing this policy, attracting governors with transfers of resources through the Unified Public Security System and providing technical support. In addition, an adequate protocol is needed for the cameras to work.
