Amid the municipal elections, the civil guards, which are the responsibility of the city governments, have returned to the center of the debate, with proposals to increase their number of officers and weapons. In three years, for example, the City of São Paulo has tripled its spending on purchasing rifles. Despite this, the number of hours of firearms training for the guards still falls short of that of the Military Police.
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Training Hours
A survey conducted by G1, based on data provided by the municipalities and the Military Police, concluded that the Metropolitan Civil Guard of São Paulo and the Municipal Civil Guard of the six largest cities in Greater São Paulo do, on average, less than half the total hours of firearms training of the state’s Military Police: 46%.
According to the Military Police, during the 52 weeks of initial training for the corporation, officers undergo 326 hours of Defensive Shooting. The average for civil guards is 150 hours, considering the training time in the cities of São Paulo, Diadema, Guarulhos, Mauá, Osasco, Santo André and São Bernardo do Campo.
Recent Problems
In August, a 17-year-old girl was shot by an agent of the Metropolitan Civil Guard (GCM) while she was riding on the back of a motorcycle, which was chased by the GCMs. The incident occurred in Capão Redondo, in the South Zone of São Paulo. At the police station, the GCMs gave another version of the case. They said that the GCM’s vehicle was on patrol when it passed some bikers and that, at that moment, they heard noises and saw a flash that seemed to be a gunshot. The agents fired and left.
War Weapons
The City of São Paulo tripled its spending on purchasing rifles in three years, according to data obtained through the Access to Information Act (LAI). The first purchases began in 2021, with the acquisition of 11 rifles for R$128,365.16. Last year (2023), the Municipal Department of Urban Security invested R$478,451.96 to acquire 41 rifles.
Action in Cracolândia
In June of this year, a court decision, based on a complaint from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, prohibited the GCM from acting as police in Cracolândia. According to the MP-SP, during the operation, the GCM set up a roadblock to search users’ personal belongings in backpacks, bags, and suitcases. The approaches were made brutally and aggressively to people walking around. In 2023, the Supreme Federal Court recognized the role of agents in patrolling cities and authorized approaches and searches in suspicious places.
Analysis:
The number of hours of weapons training for police officers in Brazil is considered insufficient by public security experts, such as the Center for Studies in Public Security and Human Rights (CESDH). This deficit is directly related to the available budget, since the cost of ammunition is high, around R$7 per unit. Ideally, each police officer in training would fire at least 3,000 rounds, which implies a significant cost, especially in institutions such as the Military Police and the Municipal Guard of São Paulo, which have large personnel. However, the government has shown resistance to investing adequately in this type of training, compromising the qualification of officers.
In addition to the training deficit, the purchase of heavy weapons by public administrations, such as the City of São Paulo, reflects a broader trend in security policies in Brazil. A change introduced during the government of Jair Bolsonaro transferred control of the purchase of heavy weapons from the Army to municipal administrations, allowing greater access to this equipment. At the same time, the number of military police officers has decreased by 6.8% in the last decade, while the number of Municipal Guards has increased by 23.5%, highlighting the growing pressure on mayors to deal with crime and violence in their cities.
