Rio Police are trained to serve vulnerable groups during Carnival

The Civil Police Support Center was inaugurated this Wednesday (7), in Rio de Janeiro, with the aim of providing support to the state's police stations during Carnival. Around 30 agents who will join the Center have been trained to provide specialized assistance to groups in vulnerable situations or who are often common targets of discrimination. Among them, the LGBTI+ population, black people, religious people of African origin, women, children and the elderly.

The training of police officers was carried out on Tuesday (6), in partnership with different institutions, such as the Secretariat for Social Development and Human Rights (SEDSODH), the Public Ministry and the Court of Justice. The Civil Police Secretary, delegate Marcus Amim, said that the main concerns are ensuring the provision of a humanized service for the population and improving integration between public bodies.

“This group will facilitate communication between police units and reception and care networks for victims in vulnerable situations, and also with Security and Justice bodies, especially judicial duty stations, streamlining the necessary precautionary measures for each case. ”, said the secretary.

The president of Grupo Arco-Íris and director of the National LGBTI+ Alliance, Cláudio Nascimento, participated in the training course for civil police officers and spoke about security and citizenship, sexuality, legislation and protocols for police approaches to LGBTI+ people.

“In everyday life there is already a lot of discrimination. When a person seeks out a public security agency, depending on the police officer, a process of revictimization may occur. Precisely in a place that should be caring and welcoming. Therefore, we thought of a specific strategy for Carnival, when there are many reports of problems”, said Cláudio.

“We also produced a booklet, with a set of guidelines on sexuality, gender identity, how to treat trans people, issues specific to lesbians and gays, and how to approach and search these groups,” he added.

The president of Grupo Arco-Íris also intends to talk to the Military Police, to see if the project can be extended to the corporation. Meanwhile, he celebrates the progress made in conversations and projects established with the Civil Police.

“This resumption of dialogue with the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro is a great benefit for us, because the LGBT community still demands attention in the field of public security. It is a very important topic for promoting citizenship in our community”, said Cláudio.

“But it is important to reinforce that we will play a critical role when these policies do not work. We will continue to receive reports of places where the community was not well served and respected. And we are going to demand from the police, that this is our role”, she concluded.