Prison officers announce strike on Friday

Starting at 8:00 am this Friday (14th), federal criminal police, the former penitentiary agents, carry out a 24-hour stoppage in the five maximum security federal prisons. According to Varlei Ferreira, union representative and director of the Association of Criminal Police Officers of Brazil, the purpose of the stoppage is to open a dialogue on career regulation, expected since 2019, and which the association emphasizes was promised for the first 100 days of government. “Autonomous career, as are the other careers, providing for general direction in the police, in the body, you have to have it, it is determined by the constitution. Functional independence, well-specified attributions of this new institution, the Federal Criminal Police, career development. All of this stems from the Federal Constitution.” Criminal police officers also ask for equal pay with the careers of other federal police officers, and demand dialogue between the National Secretariat for Penal Policies and the category, as highlighted by Varlei. According to him, in the absence of communication, the only option left is to hold demonstrations and occasional stoppages. The association states that during the stoppage, the safety of prisoners will be maintained and essential services will be guaranteed in the units. But visits from family members and lawyers will be suspended. Around 1,600 penal police officers work to protect the country’s most dangerous prisoners in federal prisons in Brasília, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia. The report had no feedback on the position of the Ministry of Justice and the National Secretariat for Penal Policies. Listen on the National Radio Agency:

Agência Brasil