Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, the Civilian Police () is the name of the investigative

state police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...

forces. The Civilian Police are agencies of the public administration of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

s and of the

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

of Brazil, whose function is, under Article 144 of the Federal Constitution of 1988, public security and the preservation of the public order, the safety of the people and of the patrimony. Each of the states and the Federal District has its own civilian police department, which carries out detective work, forensics and criminal investigation, acting as a

state bureau of investigation A state bureau of investigation (SBI) is a state-level detective agency in the United States. They are plainclothes agencies that usually investigate criminal cases involving the state and/or multiple jurisdictions. They also typically provide ...

, while the "

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

" carry out preventive police duties. It aims at the exercise of functions of judiciary police and the exercise of activities of administrative and security police, which are indispensable to the preservation of the juridical order, to the (promotion of the) harmonic life of the community, and to guarantee citizens' rights and liberty.

Description

The Civilian Police of Brazil had origin in the General Intendancy of Police, created in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in 1808. With the transference of the Portuguese Royal Family to Brazil in 1808, the police started to be regulated, have structure and important social role. The ''Police General Intendancy of the Court and the State of Brazil'' (Intendência Geral de Polícia da Corte e do Estado do Brasil, in Portuguese) was created by charter of D.

João VI '' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil ...

on May 10 of that year, centralizing the police attributes of competence belonging to several authorities such as ''Ouvidor Geral'', the ''alcaydes'', the ''quadrilheiros'' and the ''road and assaults captains''. The first Police General Superintendent was Councilor ''Paulo Fernandes Viana'' who organized the police administration in Rio de Janeiro city as it used to be in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. The Police General Intendancy went through the phase of the Brazilian politic emancipation movement which finally culminated on September 7, 1822. Civilian Police had been gradually developing for all country during the governments Imperial and Republican. Today, the constitutional existence of the Civilian Police and its attributions elapse of article 144, IV and 144 § 4°, of the Federal Constitution.

Organization

Each of the 26 states plus the Federal district has its own Civil Police force. They are each directed by a Chief of Police, chosen from among commissioned career officers. The services of judiciary police are performed through individual precincts that have jurisdiction over entire towns or small cities as well as sections of large cities.

Basic organic structure

*Police Superior Council A collegiate organ *Cabinet Direct assistance of the Police Chief *Planning and Police Operations Department Operational planning *General Office of Police Fiscalization *Police State Academy Professional formation *Police Departments Operational organs *Administration Department Administrative support *Technical-Scientific Department Technical-scientific support ''(in some states, this is a separated organization)''

Special investigations

Special Investigations Department, which is the information organ of the states police, is responsible for the highly complex police investigations; yet as its duty it has the dignitaries safety and the maintenance of the Special Operations Services (

CORE Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...

, GOE and others) which uses highly trained policemen in dangerous tasks that the police have to face daily.

Police inquiry

The function of Judiciary Police is exercised through the ''police inquiry'', included in the Brazilian prosecution law in order to investigate the penal infractions and their responsibility. When concluded the inquiry is sent to the criminal judge.

Hierarchic degrees

Police Authority *

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of Police (Delegado/Comissário) = A (Deputy

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

) and a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. It is demanded to a Commissioner of Police be: A

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

& have a minimum of three years of legal or police experience. Agents of the Authority *Notary of Police (Escrivão) *Agent, Investigator or Inspector (Agente, Investigador ou Inspetor) Police Specialists *CSI - Crime Scene Investigator (Perito Criminal) ''Note'': In several Brazilian states, Police Specialists (Expert Criminal) direct an unattended Police Department, generally called "Scientific Police" or "Technical Police", responsible for criminal expertise at the respective state.

Civil police of Brazil

* Polícia Civil do Distrito Federal -

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do Amazonas *Polícia Civil do Estado da

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado da

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Piauí Piauí ( ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP. Piauí has the shortest coastline of any coas ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", refe ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado do

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

* Polícia Civil do Estado do

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de Santa Catarina *Polícia Civil do Estado de

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geogra ...

*Polícia Civil do Estado de

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 2014 ...

Weaponry

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign ** Vṛṣabha, in vedic astrology * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological ch ...

pistols *

Glock Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...

pistols * Colt pistols *

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American Firearms manufacturer, firearm manufacturer headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith (inventor), Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the ...

pistols *

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, Se ...

* Colt M16A2 *

Heckler & Koch G3 The Heckler & Koch G3 () is a selective fire, select-fire battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO developed in the 1950s by the German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned firearms manufacturer CE ...

External links

Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
Official web site, in Portuguese
Civil Police of the Minas Gerais State

Brazilian Federal Police
Official web site, in Portuguese {{Law enforcement in Brazil State law enforcement agencies of Brazil

Description

Organization

Basic organic structure

Special investigations

Police inquiry

Hierarchic degrees

Civil police of Brazil

Weaponry

See also

External links