Government wants to install criminal police cameras to combat torture in prisons

The Lula government prepares studies for the installation of corporate cameras in federal penal police uniforms that act in prisons. The implementation of the measure, in accordance with the Ministry of Justice, is based on data and studies on cases of torture in the Brazilian prison system.

The National Secretary of Criminal Policies, of the Ministry of Justice, Rafael Velasco, affirmed that the corporate cameras can be “effective tools to combat torture. Velasco defended the move in the event in which the Federal Rodoviária Police (PRF) presented models of equipment and a calendar for the tender and installation of the cameras by the corporate agents.

“We have already put this as a national policy. We are studying, just like the PRF, corporate cameras in the entire prison system of Brazil”. Segundo Velasco, there have already been talks and negotiations with state justice secretaries.

The secretary pointed out that the cameras can be security equipment for everyone. “So that we have this safeguard instrument for the server, for the prisoner and for society as a whole. To speed up and finally have effective tools to combat torture, which is so necessary in our penitentiary system. We are investing and it will be done pari passu with PRF because there are similarities. We hope that other state institutions understand that it is for the benefit of society, ”he declared.

Cameras in PRF

The PRF disclosed at the fifth fair (25) a calendar for the installation of cameras in the uniforms of two agents. The studies will begin this month and should be completed in October. After that, the testing phase will begin in the field, when the police will use the equipment on the roads.

The tender for the purchase of equipment is scheduled for April 2023. According to PRF, the size of the investment for the installation is still being calculated.

São Paulo, the first state to implement this measure, spends an average of R$ 798 monthly with a full package package for each police officer.