During the 38th Ordinary Meeting of the National Committee for the Prevention and Combat of Torture (CNPCT), held this Wednesday (22), Cristiano Tavares Torquato, director of the Federal Penitentiary System, announced that the government will send body cameras that will be used by criminal police officers who work within the state prison system.
This was the first meeting of the CNPCT during the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The council, which reports to the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, is made up of representatives of human rights defense organizations, associations of public defenders and social movements.
At this meeting, the theme was the public security crisis in Rio Grande do Norte, which for nine days has been facing attacks on public buildings and businesses. According to the police, the wave of attacks would be a response from a faction that operates inside the prisons, dissatisfied with the violation of human rights inside the Potiguar prison units.
Representatives of the National Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture (MNPCT), who inspected the prisons of Rio Grande do Norte in November 2022, warned of the routine violence to which detainees are subjected within prison units. Family members reported that inmates are beaten and tortured by penal agents.
After the testimonies, Torquato informed that the state will receive body cameras. The members of the meeting then questioned the director of the Federal Penitentiary System, a body subordinated to the National Secretariat for Penal Policies (Senapen), of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, if the equipment would also be attached to the state military police or for exclusive use. of the penitentiary system.
Torquato stated that “it will be used by criminal police officers within the prison system” and that “the priority is to force the police to use equipment only within the penitentiary system.”
In a note, Senapen confirmed the news. “The National Secretariat for Penal Policies (SENAPPEN) informs that the purchase process is in the process of defining the requirements for hiring. The use of cameras in police uniforms in all forces is a guideline of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. It already exists. preliminary study carried out by SENAPPEN of the technological model to be adopted in the penitentiary scope.”
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security, also in a note, reported that “the project to implement cameras on police uniforms is under analysis by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), through three secretariats of the portfolio: National Secretariat for Public Security (Senasp), Secretariat for Access to Justice (SAJU), National Secretariat for Penitentiary Administration (Senapen), in addition to the PRF”.
Also according to the folder, the secretariats are in the phase of “studying the existing models, identifying the necessary protocols, the methodology for implementation and other aspects that can be adopted in the police, as well as the way they can support states and municipalities .”
Editing: Thalita Pires
