In the face of recent attacks, in which police officers shot at colleagues in the states of Ceará and São Paulo, the ombudsman of the São Paulo State Police, Cláudio Aparecido Silva, assesses that the cases of violence show an illness of the police troops. “We are living with high rates of suicide, suicide attempts and violations by police against police. We perceive a very strong illness in this troop and we need to face this illness and guarantee protection for these police officers, humanization and observance of their human rights”, said the ombudsman. Yesterday morning (15), a Military Police (PM) sergeant killed two military police officers by firing a firearm, on the premises of the 3rd Company of the 50th Battalion of the Interior Military Police (50º BPM/I0), in Salto, in the interior of São Paulo. In the early hours of Sunday (14), four civil police officers were shot dead at the Regional Police Station in Camocim, a city in the interior of Ceará. They were surprised by a colleague who was off duty and arrived at the scene already shooting. The chairman of the board of the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP), Cassio Thyone Rosa, considers the difficulty of identifying the causes of violent events among police officers, but also points to the illness of professionals. “The reasons themselves have not yet been made explicit. He, the probable author, did not even make a statement about it. [chacina no Ceará]. This will be the subject of investigation, but what we can assume in relation to this type of case is that there is obviously a serious problem related to the mental health of this professional, ”he said. Prevention In order to face the problem and promote prevention policies, the ombudsman of the São Paulo State Police suggests that the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP), the state government and police commands, together with the Ombudsman, carry out a force- task and do an in-depth study that listens to the worker base, corporations and experts. “We need to make an in-depth diagnosis of these conditions, which have caused these outbursts that cause suicide, death among police officers, among other forms of illness in this troop, so that we can effectively study ways to take care of this type of illness that is happening “, he said. In addition, he points out that there are other policies that need to be considered, such as professional development, career planning and restructuring. The expert from the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP) points out that there are initiatives that can be applied in relation to the prevention of outbreaks, mental illness and illness in the troop. “What is needed is for these institutions to have regular psychological follow-up in order to be able to detect when a professional really needs help.” For him, corporations need to make this help available routinely and promote actions that bring awareness to the troop that it is important to take care of the mental health of police officers. Suicide In just over a year, between January 2020 and April 2021, 1,647 licenses for mental disorders were approved for state military police. The data was obtained via the Access to Information Law by the data agency, Sejam Sabendo. In 2021, across the country, 101 police officers, including military and civilians, on active duty, committed suicide, 24 of them in the state of São Paulo. The information is in the 16th Brazilian Public Security Yearbook. In 2020, there were 65 suicides, which represented a 55% increase in this type of occurrence from one year to the next. Earlier this month, the São Paulo Police Ombudsman released a note after a military police officer committed suicide. “At the same time that it expresses its regret, this Ombudsman expresses its concern about the high suicide rates that occurred during the year 2023, informing that it will intensify its efforts with the State Public Security Secretariat and other state and federal authorities to monitor and stem the sad rates of mental illness in our corporations.” Rosa explained that suicide “is an extreme act, in which the person who chooses to attack his life is making a radical decision to stop suffering, psychological suffering”. For him, the solution to this issue also involves prevention, information and psychological care to be offered to police officers, and that institutions are concerned with the mental health of their professionals. “It is necessary to remember that the police officer, in addition to the stress that we are all subject to due to particular conditions, he will also face stress that is related to the exercise of his function”, he warned.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©