Even with the smallest manpower of the century, below 80,000 agents for the first timethe Military Police of São Paulo maintains a contingent to serve public authorities above what is necessary and which would be enough to provide security to a city with about 800 thousand inhabitants.
Unpublished data obtained by Sheet reveal that the structure of the PM provides for a staff of 93,802 agents, but had 79,392 in January – a deficit of 15%. On the other hand, the teams willing to serve politicians and other authorities, the Police-Military Advisories, provided for a staff of 834 PMs, but housed 905 –8.5% more.
Only 15 São Paulo municipalities, show the numbers, have more than 900 police officers — or 2.3% of the 645 existing in the state, adding in these calculations the Highway and Environmental Police teams.
The staff of advisory services exceeds the forecast by almost 80%. It’s the mayor’s security case Ricardo Nunes (MDB)whose staff provides for 39 agents, but housed 70 PMs at the beginning of this year.
According to the PM, 537 cities in SP have less than 70 PMs – or 83% of the state. That is: eight out of ten cities in São Paulo have fewer military police officers patrolling the streets than the total number of PMs assigned to protect the mayor of the capital – the GCM (Metropolitan Civil Guard) staff is 5,766.
In all, the PM maintains 12 advisory services. In addition to the City Hall, there are teams at the Court of Justice of São Paulo, at the Legislative Assembly, at the City Council, at the State Court of Auditors, at the Attorney General’s Office (top of the Public Prosecutor’s Office), among others (see table below).
Decree 65,096, of 2020, provides which bodies or institutions are entitled to PMs as security guards, but, according to officials heard by the report, it is the General Staff of the corporation who defines the staff. The current framework, according to the Security Secretariat, is from the previous management (2019 to 2022).
This troop of police officers removed from policing does not include the group loaned to bodies such as Senasp, Federal Chamber and STF (Federal Supreme Court). The Tarcísio de Freitas administration (Republicans) did not want to inform the Sheet that number, but it is estimated to be more than 50 police officers.
It also does not include the 407 police officers of the Casa Militar, whose main function is to provide security for the Palácio dos Bandeirantes and the governor. It is excluded from this account because Casa Militar also includes members of the Civil Defense and, therefore, plays an important role in preventing and assisting in disasters.
The staff of these advisory services is, for specialists consulted by the Sheetunnecessary, costly and often used by officers to get away from the problems inherent in working on the street, and also a way for the PM leadership to please other authorities.
For retired Military Police colonel José Vicente da Silva Filho, former national security secretary, although advisory services have existed for a long time, there is no justification for most of them, such as the Legislative Assembly, the Court of Auditors and the Municipality of São Paulo.
“The city hall of the capital doesn’t even need a PM. They should sit down with the mayor and say: ‘look, you are a very good friend of mine, but if you need [da PM]we send [uma viatura] in five minutes at the door of your house, or at the city hall. But take everyone away.”
Still according to him, studies indicate that each MP costs the taxpayer between approximately R$ 100,000 and R$ 150,000 a year. Thus, these advisory services cost more than R$ 100 million per year to the population of São Paulo.
“It takes a year to train a soldier, four years to train an officer, hoping that this police officer will go to protect the population where he should, which is on the street. Suddenly, he goes to the Legislative Assembly, to the city hall. He will do what he wants There’s a colleague who entered the TCE as a lieutenant and left there as a lieutenant colonel. He spent his entire career there,” said the officer.
For anthropologist Jacqueline Muniz, this number of police outside street policing demonstrates that the discussion on increasing the number of police officers needs to be preceded by an analysis of the management models adopted by the corporations, which should privilege the main function.
“Of course it’s wrong. What’s the use of me putting police [para recompor o efetivo], for what? For the police to become political merchandise in the hands of the bosses? It’s a treat there, and a treat here. So, the police are everywhere, except on the street, serving the citizen.”
Also according to Jacqueline, former director of the Department of Research, Information Analysis and Personnel Development in Public Security, at the Ministry of Justice (Senasp), the police need to occupy their space —or it will give way to other agents.
“The police in Brazil need to return to their core activity. They need to return to policing, so that crime does not replace them, clandestine private companies do not replace them”, she said.
For lawyer João Carlos Campanini, a former PM officer in SP and a specialist in military law and public security, there is a clear deviation from the purpose of these advisory services.
“I understand that the core activity, which is ostensible and preventive policing, is being left in the background. There is a high number of military police officers performing different functions, which I think is undue, and could run into an obvious deviation from purpose”, he said.
In addition to advisory services, the PM could rethink the need for other groups that, for the specialist, only serve to consume cash unnecessarily. He cites as an example the Musical Corps of the PM, with 141 police officers, and the 2nd Shock Battalion, with 547 agents, as well as the Cavalry Regiment, with 423, both generally employed in sporting events by private entities.
BODIES SAY THEY FOLLOW THE LAW
The Tarcísio de Freitas administration did not explain the criteria used on the staff allocated to the mayor of the capital. The São Paulo City Hall, on the other hand, informed that “the assignment of military police officers to serve in the municipal administration follows the legislation in force and considers the risk matrix of its dignitaries”.
According to the body, the PMs “act in the security of the mayor and his family members, as well as in the planning and prevention of risks”, without detailing which ones.
“In addition, military servants are responsible for the integration of urban security in the capital, carried out by the GCM [Guarda Civil Metropolitana]com a SSP [Secretaria de Segurança Pública]for planning large events and actions in Cracolândia”, says the text.
Regarding advisory services in general, the Tarcísio de Freitas management reported following specific legislation and that the activities “developed involve everything from the physical security of facilities and the personal security of authorities, and even contributing to the Criminal Prosecution System.”
“In 2022 alone, the Police-Military Advisory of the Court of Justice escorted 6,705 prisoners in hearings at the Criminal and Jury Courts and 25,253 prisoners in custody hearings, in the Judiciary Complex Minister Mário Guimarães, the largest Forum in Latin America “, says an excerpt from the note, without specifying how many of the 294 police officers are employed in this escort job.
According to the report of Sheeta São Paulo Criminal Police, also responsible for escorting prisoners, it has 29,241 police officers, more than that of the Civil Police, which, at the end of 2022, had 26,350 agents.
Regarding the Casa Militar, the government of São Paulo also informed that it follows the legislation and concentrates the personnel of the Civil Defense, “a body that has the premise of protecting life, through prevention, mitigation, preparation and recovery actions aimed at civil protection and defense “.
Finally, Public Security reported that “the current management is working to recompose the staff by carrying out new public tenders”. The Tarcísio de Freitas government made no mention in the notes of a possible intention to reduce the size of advisory services.
