Brasília, July 7, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - On Tuesday, the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, and the national secretary of Public Safety, Luiz Eduardo Soares, will make official the adhesion of 12 more states to the Federal Public Safety System (Susp), set up by the federal government, in conjunction with the governors, to establish uniformity in their programs to combat violence and, most of all, organized crime. With these new agreements, the total number of states that have subscribed to the program rises to 22. In August, Paraná, Goiás, and Tocantins will also become members of the group.
On Tuesday, the Minister and the secretary will be in Boa Vista and Rio Branco. On Wednesday, agreements will be signed in Manaus and Porto Velho, and, on Thursday, signing ceremonies will occur in Macapá and Belém. Next week, the visits will encompass Salvador and Aracaju (July 22), Recife and João Pessoa (July 23), and Fortaleza and São Luiz (July 24). The ceremonies will be held at 11 A.M.or 4 P.M. in these capitals.
The Susp was created for the purpose of integrating the activities of police forces from the three governmental levels of the Executive power. In all the states that adhered to the program, Integrated Supervisory Committees will be formed, including the state secretary of Public Safety as coordinator and representatives of the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the Civil Police, and municipal guards. The program also expects to receive active cooperation from the Federal Prosecutor's Office and the Judicial branch.
The Committees will be in charge of defining, by consensus, the activities that will be launched, especially to fight organized crime (arms and drug traffic, smuggling, money-laundering, piracy). All the decisions made by state committees will be passed along to a national supervisory committee, so that experiences that are successful in one place can be implanted in others.
The Committees will also define priorities for federal investments in the area of public safety in the states. So far, the following states have adhered to the Susp: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Piauí, Alagoas, Rio Grande do Norte, Espírito Santo, and Mato Grosso do Sul. (DAS)
