Report: Study Trip to Brazil, dated 8 November 2001:

The Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security, having conducted a study trip to the Federal Republic of Brazil, reports as follows:

A. Introduction

The study trip took place from 19 to 25 August 2001, and the following members were in attendance:

Mr M E George (Chairperson)
Adv A H Gaum
Mr V B Ndlovu
Adv P S Swart
Mrs M M Sotyu
Mrs J E Sosibo
Mr R P Zondo
Mr L Pakati (Committee Secretary)

B. Purpose of trip

South Africa is in the process of consolidating its democracy. To achieve this the country needs to provide a safe and secure environment, not only for its citizens but also for business and investment. Crime in this regard is widely perceived as an increasing threat to sustainable democracy and socio-economic development. The Committee sees its role as supportive of strategies and policies the government has developed to reduce the levels of crime. To help to fulfil this responsibility from an informed position, the Committee, at times, undertakes provincial as well as international study visits. Internationally, the Committee visits various carefully selected countries to interact with government officials and political leaders involved in crime prevention and combating. The ultimate aim is to share ideas and experiences and to see if South Africa can emulate some of the positive experiences of the host countries.

C. Visits in Brazil

The delegation had fruitful discussions with senior police officials, both at federal and state levels. Places visited were Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In all the cities discussions were held with senior municipal police officials, military police, civil police and judicial police and one successful private security company in Sao Paulo. Of particular interest to the SA parliamentary delegation were the following topics:

* Organisation and functioning of the Brazilian Police

* Border control/policing

* Organised and transnational crime

* Social crime prevention

* Firearms control and legislation

* Regulation of private security industry

* Training of police

* Combating terrorism

1. Organisation and functioning of Brazilian Police

The Minister of Justice is the political head of the federal police force. Initially, political accountability used be the responsibility of the Minister of Home Affairs. At the federal state level, the governor is the political head and at the level of the municipality the ultimate accountability lies with the Mayor of the city. All of them have powers to legislate within the provisions of the federal constitution.

Safeguarding public order and security is one of the critical demands of any democracy and one of the most important responsibilities of an accountable government. In Brazil this responsibility is shared between the federal government and the various states (26 states). Generally, crime combating and other police matters are the responsibility of the various individual states that make up the federation. On the other hand the Constitution states that the responsibility of the state police is restricted to certain areas only - the state. In this sense, and in accordance with the constitution, each state has the police force of its own, whose jurisdiction is restricted within the particular boundaries of the concerned state.

Unlike in Germany, where there is no uniformity in the manner in which the states police are organised, there is some uniformity in Brazil in the sense that in all the states the police are divided into four categories:

* Judicial police

* Investigative police

* Military police (uniformed police)

* Municipal guards

The federal police force has specific and explicitly stated responsibilities. Among other things, they deal with organised crime, money laundering, drug trafficking, maintaining political and social order, protection of the constitution and Parliament and the training of police personnel. On the other hand, the police in the states are tasked with the responsibility of dealing specifically with ordinary crime within their borders.

2. Prevalent crimes

The delegation had an opportunity to take a guided tour of the police museum at the Police Academy in Brasilia. To a large extent the museum provides a profound insight into the extent of crime and criminality in Brazil. Again it shows the extent desperate drug smugglers go to, to smuggle drugs across borders. The delegation was shown the following:

Different illegal cigarettes brands and liquor; forged foreign passports; fake currencies; home- made bombs; machines that print currencies and coins; machines used to press dagga and other drugs; samples of valuable stones that are extracted in Brazil; different types of animals used to store cocaine and other hard drugs during smuggling.

3. Border control

Brazil is so big that it is considered to be the size of a continent; it has 170 million inhabitants in 26 states; it is the eighth largest economy in the world; people emigrate to Brazil in search of better life opportunities and the country has one of the busiest ports in the world. It is the combination of these factors that place border policing on top in the list of government priorities. For the police it is a mammoth task to control the borders of a country of this size. There in one border police unit in each state to police land borders.

According to Article 144 of the Federal Constitution, the task of border control is the competence of the federal police. They do not only control borders but are also responsible for the issuing of passports to travellers. The major and more prevalent crimes that are associated with borders are drug smuggling and smuggling of people out of Brazil. Brazil is considered a country of immigrants. People are constantly coming in to Brazil and there are also many who emigrate to the US for better opportunities. There are syndicates who specialise in smuggling people to Japan and other European countries to work as labourers. Most smuggled children and young women are taken to the US and Spain to become prostitutes.

The police, through their intelligence network, always try to intercept such crime syndicates. They also try to prevent people from coming into Brazil illegally. These people are repatriated as soon as possible. However, they come back soon after the repatriation and the cost of carrying the same exercise repeatedly is expensive. Another way to discourage them is to put them in prison, charge and fine them $1 000 - which is a huge sum of money. The combination of these measures, to a significant degree, help to deter illegal immigrants from entering Brazil illegally. Like in South Africa, in Rio de Janeiro, most of the illegals tend to join crime syndicates, while in Sao Paulo the tendency is to become illegal labourers. The Chinese on the other hand tend to specialise in distributing fake clothing and audio-visual material.

4. Firearms control

Previously the carrying of firearms was not illegal. When it became illegal those who broken the law received light sentences. Such offences were not taken seriously by the law. However, firearms have since become a serious problem and the government has begun to treat crimes that are committed with firearms very seriously. For instance, just before the delegation arrived, the government had just destroyed 100 000 illegal firearms in Rio De Janeiro. The aim of the exercise was to remove a sizeable number of firearms out of circulation system.

Paraguay is the major source of illegal firearms. Most illegal 9 mm firearms are smuggled from Paraguay. Like in South Africa, another major source of illegal firearms is the legal ones. They are mostly used to commit violent crimes, such as armed robbery and murders. The government has therefore realised the increasing need to control the proliferation of both legal as well as illegal firearms.

In 1997 an Act of Parliament was promulgated to do three things. One was to limit the number of firearms in circulation. Two was for the government to develop sophisticated methods to register firearms and to prevent their escalation. Lastly, since one of the problems initially was lack of communication between the various states and the federal government, the Act endeavoured to address this administrative loophole by compelling the government to develop a national law to enforce uniformity when dealing with firearms. Currently, in all the states, a person has to have a maximum of six firearms, and they are divided for the following purposes:

* two for personal collection

* two for hunting

* two for self-defence.

Sports people fall in a special and exclusive category. The category recognises their peculiar circumstance and as such, allows them to acquire additional weapons. Like in South Africa, all applicants have to meet certain conditions before they qualify, which are:

(a) The background of the applicant - to check if he has a criminal record.

(b) He has to undergo psychological tests - to check if he is fit to carry a firearm.

(c) He has to be above 21 years of age.

(d) He has to demonstrate the need - e.g. if he lives in a violent area.

5. Drugs and drug-trafficking

Brazil does not produce illegal drugs. It gets most of its drugs from neighbouring countries such as Colombia. Although one does get marijuana in the northern parts of the country, it is of bad quality and, for this reason, is not good for export. It is consumed locally by the poorer communities who cannot afford expensive imported drugs such as cocaine and heroine. There were attempts in the past to plant cocaine but they failed. At the moment neither heroine nor cocaine production is taking place.

The policing of illegal drugs is the responsibility of the Federal Police. The problem is so endemic that the government decided to create a National Secretariat to specifically deal with illegal drugs. The secretariat also falls under the Minister of Justice. Its primary function is to co-ordinate strategies for the eradication of illegal drugs. In this regard, they co-ordinate intelligence gathering and national policy. In addition, they are responsible for the training of drug sniffing dogs, monitor postal trafficking, work at airports and sea borders. At the moment, they have decided to focus their resources and energy on destroying 13 products that are used to produce cocaine and heroine.

Brazil has formed a strong partnership with the United Nations (UN). The project costs $9 million and is supposed to be in operation for the next five years. Since the major source of drugs is Colombia, it was therefore logical that the Brazilian Police formed a partnership with the Government of Colombia to help both countries in the fight against drugs. For this purpose, they have established, which they call the Cobra Plan. This acronym was coined to indicate the involvement of Colombia (co) and Brazil (bra) as partners.)

The Cobra plan is carried out between Brazil and Colombian border control police units. Both police forces have a very strong working relationship. So far the plan seems to be working effectively and well. 30 tons of cocaine was recovered in 1996, and the number increased to 160 ton in 2000. This is attributable solely to the strong working relationship between the two neighbours. According to the Brazilian Police, it is difficult to work with their Colombian counterparts because the latter live under very dangerous circumstances in Colombia. They are the targets of criminals. According to statistics, two police officers are killed everyday in Colombia, and out of 2 000 people kidnapped, 500 were members of the Colombian police. Military units are then used to augment the capacity of the police at the borders. Again, one of the problems in border control is the kind of constitutional arrangement of state police versus federal police. In this sense, there is lack of co-operation between states and federal police. And this weakness in the system is likely to persist well into the future because it is considered to be very sensitive and many officials prefer to leave it to the attention of the politicians.

6. Other mechanisms used to fight drugs

There is an intimate link between crimes that involve drugs, weapons, cargos and smuggling of people. However, criminals prefer to invest in drugs because they are the most lucrative in organised crime. The government believes that any strategy should be informed by this link. Essentially, this implies that, although it is important to have specialised units, it is equally important to widen their approach. To this end, the Brazilian government is using the following tools to fight drugs:

Intelligence - Interpol is used to gather intelligence on international criminals.

Extradition - Brazil has extradition agreements with most of her neighbours.

Money-laundering law - the police have powers to cease property of a suspected criminal.

Witness protection - this is necessary for successful prosecution.

Criminal association law - this criminalises membership of a banned criminal organisations. And all these measures are enforced by Federal White Collar Law.

7. Decriminalisation of marijuana

The government does not believe that the decriminalisation of dagga would yield any positive tangible outcome. On the contrary, they believe that the more it becomes freely available, the more it will be consumed and abused. In addition, the fact that it is addictive, alone poses a serious problem.

D. Forensic technology

As a means of communication, criminals are making very good use of the latest technology. Internet, in this regard, is used as a global connecting network. Essentially, this allows the generalised use of information. At the same time, global crimes such as, pornography with young children; violation of authors rights and other information security-related crimes are perpetrated through the internet phenomenon. Difficult as it may be, the police are not only expected to investigate these crimes but also to deal with them with a great deal of efficiency and effectiveness. To this end, they must be able to recover and present digital evidence. This means that they must be specialists in the field of forensic technology. In Brazil police deal with such intricate crimes in four steps, namely:

* environmental analysis

* digital representation

* translation of evidence

* forensic reports

E. Visit to Sao Paulo

In Sao Paulo the delegation had fruitful and informative discussions with the municipal police. They reiterated the fact that like in any modern country, organised crime is a serious problem. What makes the problem even more difficult and frustrating at times, is that procedures are too formal and involve a lot of paperwork. Another problem from the perspective of the state police is that it is not viewed as their responsibility and they therefore are not authorised to deal with it. For instance, when they catch criminals, they have to inform the federal police to take over. At state level they cannot infiltrate criminal organisations operating in their states. In Sao Paulo the total number of police personnel is 120 000, and there is only 2 000 federal police. In this sense, the state has more personnel than the federal police when it comes to dealing with organised crime, and yet, they cannot translate those numbers to good use because they are compelled by the constitution to respect borders, whereas criminals do not do that.

As if that is not enough, a further division occurs between military police (uniformed police) and civil police. This affects the effectiveness of the police because the latter is supposed to work only after a crime has been committed. Sometimes, depending on the personalities involved, the units work simultaneously. There is, however, a national political discussion currently taking place, debating the possibility of merging the two units to help minimise some of the distortions in the present arrangement. The topic, however, is very controversial and sensitive. Some people are more than comfortable with the status quo while others are keen to effect the necessary changes. In the State of Sao Paulo the Secretary of Police, in particular, is known to be trying hard to unite the two units. However, he is not getting the support he needs from other states.

Sao Paulo is a very big city. It is the most populous in Brazil, with 36 million inhabitants. Similar to South African cities, its economy is a combination of first and third world economies. In this context it soon becomes apparent that all levels of law enforcement have a critical role to play. The civil guard (municipal police) in the municipalities in particular, play a critical role in crime prevention. One of the immediate advantages of the municipal police concept is that it creates a structure that is lean, easily manageable, accessible to the people on the street and quick to respond. In line with the demands of Article 144 of the Constitution, the civil guard of Sao Paulo was inaugurated on 15 September 1986 by municipal ordinance No 10.115. Ever since, it has performed very well.

In a city the size of Sao Paulo the police work under severe pressure because crime affects many people. There is pressure from all sorts of people, particularly the media. According to the police, the media simply do not understand how the police work. For the police, the media attention is problematic, and the solution is to simply ignore them and focus on the job at hand.

Illegal drugs are a serious problem in Sao Paulo. There is a new breed of the youth who live on drugs, either as consumers or drug peddlers. Officials consider it as not only a problem for Brazil but a regional and international one. They do not believe that more police resources are a solution to the problem. Their argument is that the problem is as prevalent and serious in the US as in Brazil. According to them, the US has more resources, and yet they have not been successful in dealing with illegal drugs. Instead, the problem is increasing.

At some point in time, Brazil was used as a transit country, but today it is a consumers' market. The reason, as was mentioned in one of the preceding paragraphs, is that they have a very big young population. Most of them are poor and desperate and it is easy for them to be invaded by cheap drugs.

F. Visit to Headquarters of Private Security Company (Pires)

Given that in South Africa the complaint has always been lack of proper training of private security guards by security companies, it was deemed appropriate therefore that the delegation be introduced to the management of the best training facility in the whole of Latin America - Pires private security company. Their sterling work and achievements are traceable back to 1983. The story goes like this: During the early seventies to early eighties, the economy of Sao Paulo grew substantially, banks prospered and both industry and commerce expanded. They demanded security that could not be provided by the government. The changes demanded the production of a highly qualified cadre of security guards that would meet the increasing demands of a fast-growing economy. In 1983 the federal government decided to effect changes to the federal law to include the rules and regulations for security training requirements and facilities for the security industry. Pires responded to these challenges by investing more on training of its personnel.

Pires' special training not only concentrated on security of banks, heavy industry and the commercial sector, but also on the security of embassies, consulates, hospitals, hotels and universities. Pires also, specialises in executive protection and drivers training in defensive driving. Security escort services and custody of valuables are also part of its diversified services.

Pires' managers believe that their success can be attributed to sound human resources management. They claim that careful recruiting, testing and training are the essential steps taken to produce a high level of professionalism. After rigorous selection and background investigation the candidates are sent to Pires privately-owned, training academy, known as CFAPP. It is here that they are trained, using the latest techniques and equipment.

The academy was found in 1985 and inaugurated in 1997. It covers 137 000 square metres in the municipality of Guarulhos in the State of Sao Paulo. Having trained thousands of men and women, the academy has received the certificate of "Quality System ISO 9002", which is considered to be the highest recognition any training institution in Brazil can strive for. Some people refer to CFAPP as the Security University of Latin America.

Its facilities allow it to train up to 450 students at the same time, some of who are from other countries. The academy consist of the following:

1. Five large monitored and air-conditioned classrooms for 45 students each.

2. One auditorium, fully automatic with a seating capacity of 150.

3. One large building specifically for personal defence training.

4. Three large and fully automatic shooting galleries.

5. One interactive video shooting course.

6. One complete fire-fighting complex.

7. One driving track for defensive and offensive driving training.

8. One dog kennel.

9. Two dormitories for up to 224 intern students - each room with four bunk beds and individual wardrobes.

10. One large cafeteria.

11. One kitchen and laundry.

12. One library.

13. One chapel.

14. A leisure area with a barbecue, running tracks, a soccer field and tennis courts.

G. Lema Municipal police

Lema is a small town 189 km north of Sao Paulo. It has a population of 89 000 citizens and 30 municipal guards. In addition to the municipal guards there are 54 civil police. Both police complement each other for the sake of preventing crime. The Lema municipal guards pride themselves on the fact that they are small, efficient and quick to respond to challenges. They take their work very seriously and some of the tasks they perform, include the following:

1. Traffic control.

2. Public rescue service.

3. Inspection of pubs and bars.

4. Protection of community amenities and school buildings.

5. Monitoring and protection of environment.

6. Monitoring school events and sports gatherings.

As a result of many successes in regard to the above functions, they are thinking of widening the powers of their municipal police. Each municipal police is headed, by a Secretary, and the political head is the Major. Lema municipal police and its characteristics are modelled along the lines of private security companies.

It is expensive to train municipal police, because unlike other police, they have to be trained in all aspects of security, including municipal bylaws, to protect buildings and infrastructure, to render paramedical training, to shooting and to perform water rescue work. For this reason they recruit and train small groups at a time. In this way they are able to train everyone thoroughly because each is given individual attention. Above all a municipal guard should be psychologically prepared and physically fit and always ready to perform. Training takes place in the municipalities themselves and is continuous. Recruits are taught 18 courses in a period of three months. Courses taught include the following:

Social instruction

* social psychology
* human relations
* sociology
* social welfare
* professional ethics

Legislation and administration

* constitution
* human rights
* rights of road users
* data processing

Operational instruction

* criminology
* operational techniques
* organisation and functioning of Brazilian police
* telecommunications
* physical conditioning

In small cities they use bicycles to patrol the streets. A bicycle can travel at 20 km/h - the average speed of a car in city traffic. The advantage of using bicycles is that they are not inconvenienced by heavy traffic. Lema municipal guards consider themselves very successful and as role models to other municipalities. They have reduced the number of road accidents and have also removed a large number of stray animals.

H. Visit to military police in Sao Paulo

The military police specialises in policing public events and gatherings. They also monitor public amenities, such as parks. They are equivalent to South Africa's public order police. They further divide themselves into specialised units, to which they refer as battalions. They handle crime situations under dangerous conditions, such as riots in jails. (For various reasons, Sao Paulo has some of the most over-crowded jails in the world, and riots are not a rare phenomenon.) They work and patrol the most dangerous informal settlements and jungles. In these regions there are often no streets and control is difficult to exercise.

The battalions are divided as follows:

* sporting activities (stadiums)

* dog unit (mainly used to detect explosives and drugs)

* rural areas special unit

* bombs and kidnapping

* motorcycles unit (to patrol the streets, which are always busy and congested)

* VIP unit

* police on horses

* special public celebrations.

They patrol the streets between 07:00 and 19:00. Between 19:00 and 22:00 they undergo physical training in preparation for the following morning shift. According to them this arrangement is informed, firstly, by the fact that there is less crime after 7 in the evening and 07:00 in the in the morning and, secondly, by the fact that for each patrol they have to be physically and psychologically fit to cope with any crime situation. After each 15 days they sit down and analyse crime patterns in the city so that they can deploy resources where they are most needed. To cope with the dangers on the street they have to be fully armed. The weapons they use according to the demands of the situation are short guns, 9 mm submachine guns and rifles such as M16 and AR15. Their working relation with other police formations is as follows:

Civil police - their function is to deal with judicial and legal matters and investigations. In this sense, their relations are not on operational level.

Federal police - the military police always have to understand their limitations according to the constitution. Whenever they are about to step over their jurisdiction and powers, they have to inform the federal police and when they have to intercept or infiltrate illegal drug-trafficking. However, according to them, this is only in theory because in practice they seize drugs themselves and only inform the federal police afterwards.

The military police in Sao Paulo agree that with only 508 personnel and only two women (who work as undercover police), they are severely understaffed. In addition to the 508, they need 170 staff members, especially women. They have 85 vehicles, mostly 4X4s. This number is not considered to be enough.

The morale of the military police was very high and the delegation was told that money or resources were not considered as serious factors in boosting moral. What they needed, was praise, medals, free holidays and a simple thank you from their senior officials.

I. Acknowledgements

The delegation would like to convey sincere thanks and appreciation to their hosts in the Federal Republic of Brazil, without whom the visit would not have been so informative and successful. Special thanks go to the following people:

J F Mallmann - Police Management
V J Caentano - Control of Firearms
Getulio Bezerra Santos - Organised/Transnational Crime
Valdhino J Caetano - Security Companies
Fernando Q S Oliveira - Border Control
Andre M Caricatti - Technology and Crime
Dr Paulo A Rocheli Filho - Public Security AdvisEr
Sergio Fidelis Brasil Fontoura
Jomar B Pinto
Sergio B Menezes
Aldemira Almeida Fontes
Eli Sousa Lima
Col P M Josias
Sampaio Lopes - Commander Civil Guards Sao Paulo