The São Paulo Public Ministry (MPSP) sent an opinion to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in favor of the priority use of body cameras by military police officers in police operations carried out in vulnerable communities or situations with a large potential for collateral data.
The opinion was sent on Thursday (20), after the President of the Supreme Court, Luís Roberto Barroso, requested the MP’s statement on the São Paulo government’s request that the cameras be used only in “large-scale police operations” .
According to the PM, the corporation has 10,000 pieces of equipment, but around 80,000 police officers are part of the force.
In the MPSP’s understanding, it is reasonable that, given the momentary lack of equipment, the cameras should be used in restricted operations, such as Operation Summer, which begins this month and runs until January 2025.
“Without prejudice to the actions during Operation Summer, which will take place between December 2024 and January 2025, the Military Police of the state of São Paulo must prioritize the allocation of body cameras in police operations with raids in vulnerable communities or in situations with great potential of collateral damage”, says the MP.
In a letter sent to the Supreme Court on Wednesday (19), the Attorney General of the State of São Paulo claims that the minister created a broad interpretation when determining the use of cameras in police operations. The prosecutor’s office maintains that not all operations pose a risk of confrontation.
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“If the decision is interpreted with the scope of making the use of cameras mandatory in all police operations, there will be a clear material and operational impossibility of compliance, given that the state of São Paulo, as already informed on other occasions, has a around 80,000 military police officers, who operate in 645 municipalities, but have 10,125 portable body cameras”, argued the government.
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History
The government of São Paulo committed to the STF, in April this year, to use body cameras in police operations in the state and presented a schedule that established the implementation of the system. The state planned a new tender and acquisition of new cameras.
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In September, the government announced the signing of a contract with the company Motorola for the purchase of 12,000 body cameras. The purchase was criticized, however, for foreseeing changes in the way the equipment was activated.
According to the rules of the notice, the recording equipment could be activated by the police officer himself or by a police operations center. This way, recording may be interrupted during operations.
The model provided for in the contract does not record uninterruptedly, that is, the police officer, or the corporation, will activate the equipment whenever they wish, a point criticized by human rights entities. According to the Public Security Secretariat (SSP), this is compensated by other features, such as automatic activation, via software, remotely by the PM Operations Center (Copom) and manual activation by the police officer himself.
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Months earlier, in May, the São Paulo Public Defender’s Office and human rights entities asked the STF for changes to the purchase notice.
The following month, Barroso rejected the request, but decided that the São Paulo government should follow the parameters of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in the bidding to purchase body cameras.
The Public Defender’s Office then asked Barroso to reconsider the decision. On Monday (9), the decision mandating the use of cameras was handed down.
