Police Operations Are Not Enough to Fight Violence, Says General in Charge of Rio Public Security

03/12/2018 - 10h10

General Walter Braga Netto, the federal representative overseeing Rio de Janeiro's public security, has said that police operations alone are not enough to solve the problem of violence in the country.

According to him, social inclusion and the provision of basic public services to the poor are also fundamental parts of the puzzle in the fight against organized crime.

General Braga Netto reiterated that the objective of the army intervention in Rio is to reinstate the so-called "operational capacity of the police" by investing in squad cars, weaponry and officers.

He also stressed that there will be an effort to rebrand corporations by strengthening internal affairs structures of both the military and the civil police and by raising investments made per officer. Finally, General Braga Netto said he hoped for "integration and synergy" among security forces.

When it came to the fight against criminal organizations, particularly militias, he said that the tactics are still the same.

	Pedro Ladeira/Folhapress
	General Walter Braga Netto, the federal representative overseeing Rio de Janeiro's public security

General Braga Netto denied that residents of Rio's favelas are being profiled. Hundreds of Vila Kennedy residents were only allowed to leave the community once pictures of their faces and ID cards were taken. The files were then sent to the Civil Police's Intelligence Sector. The military only allowed residents to leave once it had been verified that they didn't have criminal records.

Ever since the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and human rights organizations criticized the army for its behavior, such actions have not occurred.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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