Combating violent crimes, especially homicides, and encouraging civil society participation in defining sectoral policies are among the main challenges of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the field of justice and public security. 
For members of the thematic group of the Transition Cabinet, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security needs to resume its institutional role, integrating national efforts to, thus, “implement the policies that the population expects”. The group was created in October, with the mission of drawing up a diagnosis of the sector and presenting suggestions to the new government.
“Reducing the number of homicides is our biggest challenge”, said lawyer Marivaldo Pereira, who was part of the technical transition group. Pereira was appointed by Minister Flávio Dino to head the new Secretariat for Access to Justice, which will be responsible for dialogue with the Judiciary and social movements.
“In order to achieve our objectives, it will be essential not only to deepen the dialogue and integration between the police forces, but also to listen to the demands of social movements so that, articulating them with the justice system and with the institutions of the ministry itself, we can, for example, , reduce police lethality and promote the rights of the historically excluded part of the population,” Pereira told the Brazil Agency.
According to a survey by the Brazilian Public Security Forum, the number of intentional violent deaths recorded in 2021 was 6% lower than in 2020. According to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in the first half of this year the reduction reached 5% compared to the same period last year.
Factions
When addressing the main challenges of the next administration, Pereira cited problems identified as a priority by previous governments: criminal organizations and the incessant growth of the prison population. Currently, there are around 837,000 people in Brazil serving sentences restricting their freedom or awaiting trial.
“Strengthening the National Secretariat for Public Security and the Federal Police will improve the integration of ministerial actions to confront criminal organizations, including those that migrated from drug trafficking to the execution of cyber or environmental crimes. We also plan to create a national secretariat to address penitentiary policy and alternatives to incarceration.”
According to the new secretary, the objective is to allow low-risk prisoners – who the Justice understands should not be imprisoned – to have access to alternative measures that allow the execution of the sentence without the need for incarceration. According to Pereira, the intention of the future government is to revert legal measures that, in the last four years, facilitated the access of part of the population to weapons – an intention already announced by the future minister, Flávio Dino.
“It is essential that we focus on tackling violence against black youth, women and the LGBTQIA+ population. In this sense, the most urgent thing, in our view, is to resume a policy of controlling access to weapons,” said Pereira. He also stated that many of the legal changes promoted by the Bolsonaro government “dismantled” the gun inspection system, putting at risk even the “regular functioning of public institutions”.
O report made public by the Transition Cabinet covers only part of the thematic group’s recommendations. According to Pereira, the participants dealt with several other topics, taking into account the diversity of subjects under the portfolio’s responsibility. The group highlighted the importance of articulated action with other instances of the federal government, such as the Ministries of Human Rights and Racial Equality, which will be led, respectively, by the lawyer and philosopher Sílvio Almeida and by the journalist and activist Anielle Franco, sister of the councilwoman from Rio de Janeiro. Marielle Franco, murdered in 2018.
“There are many cross-cutting policies, such as the protection of human rights defenders; the witness protection policy and the fight against institutional racism, environmental crimes and violence against indigenous peoples. We are going to strengthen the work of the PF to reverse the tragic scenario of loggers and prospectors invading indigenous lands and, whenever necessary, the National Force will be at the disposal of the states and other federal forces”, exemplified Pereira.
Pereira also recalled that, with the creation of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, which will be headed by the federal deputy elected by São Paulo, Sônia Guajajara, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security should no longer be responsible for the approval of indigenous territories.
He assured that, in order to face the challenges, the new government will continue to bet on the effective implementation of the Unified Public Security System (Susp), strengthening cooperation with the states. “There is no national public security policy without dialogue with governors. This dialogue will be prioritized so that, only then, can we dialogue with the police forces [estaduais]”, said the future secretary, who defends the installation of video cameras in police uniforms – a measure that, ultimately, is up to state governments to decide whether to adopt or not.
“They have proven effective in many places and the vast majority of law enforcement officers defend them. It is up to the ministry to stimulate and support the implementation of public policies that improve the efficiency of public security”, concluded the future secretary.
Forum
The dismemberment of the Ministry into two separate folders – one to specifically take care of issues related to Public Security and the other to Justice – is ruled out. Defended by entities such as the Brazilian Public Security Forum and by several specialists in the subject, the proposal was even discussed during the electoral campaign.
“The Federal government needs to prioritize the construction of the Susp and act as security coordinator, never replacing the action of the police and the responsibility of the governors”, pointed out, in early November, the researchers, social scientists, public security agents, operators of the Justice and experts that integrate the forum.
In addition to defending the ministerial split as a way to “improve managerial capacity” in both areas, the forum also pointed out the need for the next government to assume the appreciation of professionals in the area as one of its priorities. “It is at the federal level that careers, rights, protocols can be debated and updated.”
