Here, there is no unified special force like in the United States, but several groups are trained to act in risky situations. Most are concentrated in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, states that have better equipped police forces and high crime rates, which increases the need for this type of battalion. “Special teams, which can be subordinated to both the Military and Civil Police of each state, began to emerge in the 1980s with the growth of urban violence”, says journalist and writer Percival de Souza, a specialist in criminology. SWAT – an American police department whose acronym means Special Weapons and Tactics, or “Weapons and Special Tactics” – was born in the 60s because of the increase in deaths in hostage robberies, kidnappings and terrorist actions.
“The Americans realized that several casualties would be avoided if the police were trained for this type of situation,” says martial art instructor Marcos do Val, from the Advanced Techniques Center (CATI), a Brazilian group that has trained SWAT members. In the beginning, this famous American police, which is now successful even in the movies, was made up of small teams of ex-soldiers, called only in emergencies. From 1971, the group gained a fixed base in Los Angeles, California, and came to be considered a federal force with power to act throughout the country. In the same decade, several units began to form in other states, bringing together teams of around 60 members. In Brazil, specialized police forces have 15 to 20 police officers per group, but they are respected even abroad – some even train SWAT members.
dive into it
On the Internet:
https://www.cati.com.br
https://www.policia-civ.sp.gov.br/garra/inicio.htm
https://www.policiamilitar.rj.gov.br/bope
In the country, each of the three levels of government commands at least one police force.
PRESIDENT
FEDERAL POLICE
The faction that responds to the Ministry of Justice is the only one that operates throughout Brazil, helping civil and military police in each state in cases of drug trafficking and smuggling. The Federal Police also investigate crimes against the Union, such as money laundering and fraud against the government, and inspect cargo at customs.
Highway Patrol
Two types of police work to inspect traffic on the country’s highways and railways: the State, linked to the Military Police, and the Federal, subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. For both, the main duties are to help accidents, punish offending drivers and apprehend illicit cargo, such as contraband and drugs.
GOVERNOR
CIVIL POLICE
Subordinated to the governor of each state, it is the division that takes care of the police stations, investigates the authorship of crimes and collects evidence to arrest or acquit people. It is also the civil police officers who, in fact, carry out the arrests, preparing the documentation and legal requirements to imprison or release someone.
MILITARY POLICE
It’s the front line in the fight against crime: your missions are to make rounds and respond to calls for robberies and robberies. The military can capture bandits, but cannot execute the arrest warrant. They take the suspect to the police station, where a civil police officer examines each case. In states like São Paulo, PMs can also apply fines, a function that until the beginning of the year was exclusive to traffic inspectors.
MAYOR
METROPOLITAN GUARD
In general, municipal security forces do not use firearms to carry out community policing, preventing graffiti, depredations and invasions of public areas. The most common tasks are patrols in schools and parks to prevent crimes and, if necessary, make arrests.
Special groups are concentrated in Rio and São Paulo
COT (Federal) – TACTICAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
Subordinated to the Federal Police and headquartered in Brasilia, this group operates throughout the country investigating plane hijackings, bomb attacks and suspicions of terrorism. It is one of the most requested troops in the fight against trafficking and smuggling, in addition to being professionals in escorts and high-risk removals.
GARRA (SP) – ARMED GROUP FOR THE REPRESSION OF ROBBING AND ASSAULT
This battalion of the São Paulo Military Police specializes in crimes that can turn into tragedies, such as robbery with bombs or theft of explosives. Garra also has a subdivision, the Special Rescue Group (GER), which usually takes action in cases of robbery or kidnapping with hostages.
COE (SP) – SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
The specialty of this other elite troop linked to the São Paulo Military Police is to act inside the forest, in operations that involve rescuing lost people or chasing bandits. Experts in camouflage and survival in the wild, COE members teach courses on their performance for both police and civilians.
GAT (SP) – TACTICAL ACTION GROUP
Another force of the Military Police of São Paulo specialized in occurrences involving hostages or invasions of places dominated by bandits, such as bank robberies. To deal with these situations, police officers receive special training to negotiate with criminals, in addition to having experts in lightning kidnappings.
BOPE (RJ) – SPECIAL OPERATIONS BATTALION
To fight organized crime, occupy favelas and face drug dealers, members of this military group go up the hills of Rio heavily armed, opening the way for the common Military Police. In June 2000, Bope was marked by the tragic outcome of the hijacking of bus 174, when a policeman missed shooting a bandit at point-blank range, who ended up killing the hostage Geísa Firmo.