The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) announced the end of Operation Summer on the coast of São Paulo on Monday 1 April. The action, which lasted four months, ended with 56 deaths of suspects in clashes with the police. According to the SSP-SP, in total, 1,025 suspects were arrested, 438 of which were wanted by the courts, in addition to 47 minors apprehended. The Civil and Military Police operation concluded with the seizure of 2.6 tons of drugs and 119 illegal firearms.
Reduction in Robberies
Also, according to the SSP-SP, the operation resulted in a 25.8% reduction in robberies in Santos, São Vicente, and Guarujá in the first two months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
Expansion of Staff
The ministry also stated that, after the end of the operation, the PM will increase the number of agents in Baixada Santista, with 341 police officers assigned to work permanently in the location.
Operation Summer
Operation Verão was established in Baixada Santista in December 2023. However, with the death of PM Samuel Wesley Cosmo, on 2 February, the state launched the 2nd phase of the operation with police reinforcement in the region.
The operation was criticized by human rights entities, the Police Ombudsman’s Office and the State Public Defender’s Office and is related to the 86% increase in the number of deaths committed by PMs in the state in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period 2023. In Baixada Santista, the increase was 427%.
In the nine cities of Baixada Santista, the increase was from 15 to 79. The data refers to deaths committed by PMs both on duty and off duty.
Operation Summer had the highest number of deaths since the Carandiru massacre, in 1992, is suspected of excessive use of force and targeting innocent victims.
Project to Retirement
The Secretary of Public Security of São Paulo, Guilherme Derrite, is preparing a bill that provides for the implementation of new rules for compulsory retirement in the Military Police and, if approved, should immediately send around 40% of the colonels to the reserve – or 25 of the 63 existing.
The measure is seen by members of the PM and security experts as a new offensive against the group of colonels who resist the advance of politicization in the institution’s main posts.
When contacted, the Security Secretariat confirmed the veracity of the document to which Folha had access but said that it is an old version and that, for now, there are no defined changes. The folder did not send any more updated versions of the text.
Analysis:
Operation Summer, conducted by the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) on the coast of São Paulo, resulted in a large number of arrests, seizures of drugs and weapons, as well as a significant reduction in robbery rates in some of the cities of the region. However, the operation was also marked by a high rate of suspect deaths in clashes with police. This figure raises questions about the use of force and the possibility of human rights violations during police operations. Criticisms from human rights entities and the State Public Defender’s Office highlight the need for a complete and impartial investigation into the methods and practices used during the operation.
Furthermore, reports of abuses and disproportionate police actions were made on social media and by community residents throughout the operation. In February, police officers were caught destroying security cameras in a favela in Guarujá. In March, a witness to the death of Matheus Souza Santos, aged 21, reported that the young man was unarmed and that he had shouted moments before he was killed that he did not work in drug trafficking.
Source: G1 [1] [2]; O Globo; Folha de São Paulo.
