The government of the state of São Paulo presented this Friday (6) to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) a detailed schedule for the implementation of new body cameras for the Military Police (PM).
The information was requested on November 21st by the president of the Court, minister Luís Roberto Barroso, in the process in which the state Public Defender’s Office asked that the São Paulo government be obliged to adopt the use of the equipment by police officers who work in the state.
According to the documents sent to the Supreme Court, validation tests for the new equipment were scheduled for the 10th. After the tests are completed, the execution of the contract for the use of the cameras must begin. The scheduled date is December 17th.
According to the São Paulo government, the implementation will be done gradually.
“Considering that the service is in the development and installation phase, it is worth highlighting that the actions foreseen in the schedule presented are being implemented gradually, according to the evolution and integration of the contracted company’s systems with those of the Military Police of the State of São Paulo. Paulo (PMESP)”, informed the state government.
The implementation of the cameras will have five phases, lasting an average of 90 days. Between the first and fourth phases, equipment that is already in operation will be replaced. The fifth phase will be aimed at expanding the use of cameras to new Military Police departments.
Remote trigger
The state government also confirmed to the Supreme Court that the new cameras must be remotely activated to avoid deliberate shutdown by agents.
“At the current moment, when the bidding process has just been completed and the respective contract signed, the Military Police of the State of São Paulo, through its Directorate of Information and Communication Technology (DTIC), is working with the contractor on the development and operation of the remote activation tool (intentional and automatic)”, added the government.
History
The government of São Paulo committed to the STF, in April this year, to use body cameras in police operations in the state and presented a schedule that established the implementation of the system. The state planned a new tender and acquisition of new cameras.
In September, the government announced the signing of a contract with the company Motorola for the purchase of 12,000 body cameras. The purchase was criticized, however, for foreseeing changes in the way the equipment was activated. According to the rules of the notice, the recording equipment could be activated by the police officer himself or by a Police operations center. This way, recording may be interrupted during operations.
The model provided for in the contract does not record uninterruptedly, that is, the police officer, or the corporation, will activate the equipment whenever they wish, a point criticized by human rights entities. According to the Public Security Secretariat (SSP), this is compensated by other features, such as automatic activation, for softwareremotely via the PM Operations Center (Copom) and manually activated by the police officer himself.
Months earlier, in May, the São Paulo Public Defender’s Office and human rights entities asked the STF for changes to the purchase notice. The following month, Barroso rejected the request, but decided that the São Paulo government should follow the parameters of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in the bidding to purchase body cameras.
