Military Police (Brazil)

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A group of Polícia Militar troops from São Paulo

In Brazil, the Military Police (Portugese: Polícia Militar, or PM) is the name of the preventive state police forces in Brazil. Each of the States of Brazil has their own corps of military police, which carries out preventive police duties, while the "Civil Police" carries out detective work and investigations. The exact balance of the policing workload varies from state to state. For instance, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, where the military police has a particularly bad reputation, its duties are much more limited.

Although the name literally means military police, implying a gendarmerie, the state military police forces have no explicit military duties, and are controled by states rather than a ministry of defence, so might be considered an effectively civilian preventive police force.

The Brazilian Military Police services in each state should not be confused with the provost forces that police within the Brazilian military: The Army Police (Polícia do Exército), the Naval Police (Polícia da Marinha), and the Aeronautical Police (Polícia da Aeronaútica).

There is also a joint "Força Nacional de Segurança" ("National Security Force"), created under the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which has been formed by the state corps. This force is composed of the most qualified personnel from all the states, only to be used when the Governor of the State asks for help to control a significant security crisis. It was used for the first time during riots in the state of Espírito Santo.

[edit] Organistion

The state corps are divided into battalions (Batalhões de Polícia Militar, BPM); the battalions are divided into companies (Companhias, Cia.); and the Companies are divided into "advanced posts" (Destacamento Policial Militar, DPM). Each of the state corps has its own uniform, coat of arms and anthem. Each battalion in the corps also have their own coat of arms.

[edit] Actions

The state corps have special units for riot control and organized crime combat, Batalhão de Choque (Riot Battalion) and Batalhão de Missões Especiais (Special Missions Battalion). It also has an internal intelligence unit, called P-2, investigation services, and an internal organization who punish members involved with crime, and members who make some excess in actions. Some corps also have cavalry units, Cavalaria. In some states, these units have different names.