Most Brazilian states already adopt, are testing or evaluating the use of portable operational cameras by security forces. That’s what a survey by G1’s Violence Monitor, published on Tuesday (29/08), based on the Access to Information Law and consultation with press offices in the 26 states plus the Federal District. The cameras are attached to the police uniforms and record operations, approaches, or routine activities. This is a public policy used in several countries around the world with the justification of reducing the undue use of force, increasing control mechanisms, and improving productivity.
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Only Seven States
Military Police officers in only 7 states use portable operational cameras to some degree – which represents 25% of the country’s federation units. They are: Minas Gerais, Pará, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rondônia, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. São Paulo is the state with the most equipment so far: more than 10,000. However, this number represents 52% of the operational staff of the São Paulo Military Police.
The Other States
According to authorities, the adoption of cameras is in progress in other 10 states. They are at different stages: some say they are preparing bidding documents for the purchase of equipment; others say they already have the bidding process in progress or in the camera testing phase. Another 9 states claim that they are in earlier stages, carrying out feasibility studies and evaluations on the use of cameras. Finally, only Maranhão reported not using and did not provide details on evaluating the use of cameras.
Police Lethality
Police lethality in 2022 was below the national average in four of the 7 states that use body cameras: Minas Gerais, Rondônia, Santa Catarina and São Paulo, according to the Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security, released in July 2023 by the Brazilian Public Security Forum. In 3 states, it was higher than the average: Pará, Rio Grande do Norte and Rio de Janeiro.
National Meeting on Cameras
Between Tuesday (29/08) and Thursday (31/08), the Ministry of Justice held the 1st National Technical Meeting on Body Cameras and Public Security in the country. The event, which took place in Brasilia, brought together federal, state, and municipal public safety professionals from the military, civilian police, firefighters, among others. According to the government, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the use of equipment and improve organizational processes in institutions through the implementation of the National Body Cameras Project, whose objective is to qualify criminal evidence and protect police officers and citizens in everyday interactions.
Problems in Rio de Janeiro
A document from the Public Defender of the State of Rio sent to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), on Thursday (24/08), indicates that the Military Police of Rio (PM) has been trying to hinder transparency in relation to the records made by the body cameras installed on the MPs’ vests — mainly in actions that resulted in the death of innocent people. The report also reveals that in some cases the cameras are detached from the uniforms and the lens is obstructed by the officer. In addition, in some events the images would have been manipulated and even erased. The PM denies that it is possible to edit the images but admits that there may be complications during the recordings.
Analysis:
The police body cameras is a public policy used in several countries around the world with the justification of reducing the undue use of force, increasing control mechanisms, and improving productivity. Its adoption is synonymous with professionalization and has been seen by several corporations not only as an instrument that can eventually serve as a control mechanism, but, more than that, as an individual protection equipment, which gives more security to the police. There are still gaps in the regulations in the states that already use bodycams, as shown by the complaint by the Rio de Janeiro Public Defender’s Office that the state’s Military Police had edited and deleted images from the cameras sent to the agency. Many policemen has “unorthodox” or illegal practices and methods to carry out their duties, which will likely be the source of a lot of resistance to fully and quickly implementing the cameras, in addition to fully release the content recorded.
