Major Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo (born c. 1978) is a Brazilian police officer who has won international awards for her service.

Life

She was born in about 1978 and she was brought up in

Laranjeiras Laranjeiras (, ''orange trees'') is an upper-middle-class neighborhood located in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Primarily residential, It is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, having been founded in the 17th century, with the ...

neighborhood. She arrested people who had earlier kidnapped her and held her prisoner. In 1998 she joined the

Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State The Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State ( pt, Polícia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro) (PMERJ) like other military polices in Brazil is a reserve and ancillary force of the Brazilian Army, and part of the System of Public Security and ...

, and in 2000 she began working in street repression operations and police battalions. In 2007 she was kidnapped and attacked, but she escaped and managed to arrest three of her kidnappers. In 2008 she was placed in charge of the first “Police Pacification Unit” (UPP) in Rio de Janeiro, in the

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

of Santa Marta. As of January 2014 she is the chief of the Police Pacification Unit in

Rocinha Rocinha (, ''little farm'') is the largest favela in Brazil, located in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone between the districts of São Conrado and Gávea. Rocinha is built on a steep hillside overlooking Rio de Janeiro, and is located about one ...

, which she became chief of in 2013 after its officers were accused of being involved in the disappearance of a local man. She received a 2012

International Women of Courage The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

award, and ''

Veja Veja may refer to : Places * Veja, a town in Lazio, central Italy; now Vejano comune * Veja, a village in Stănița Commune, Neamț County, Romania * Veja River, Romania * Veja State, a former princely state in present Gujarat, western India Perso ...

'' named her Defender of the City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azevedo, Pricilla de Oliveira Living people Brazilian police officers 1970s births Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award