Last Friday (27/05) morning the Fransisco Paes Beltrame Room was inaugurated at a middle school run by the Resident’s Association at the pacified community of Babilônia, Rio’s south zone. The idea of making homage to the Security Secretary’s son came from the residents. “The idea came up in one of the Association’s meetings and everyone agreed. It’s the least we can do after all that he’s done for our community. The UPP has changes our lives,”  said Percília da Silva Pereira, 72, who has been living in the community for 63 years and works as volunteer.

The honored, who is still a baby, cannot thank the community in his own words, but was all smiles during the inauguration ceremony. His mother and wife of José Mariano Beltrame, Rio’s Security Secretary, said that she was very touched when she saw her son’s name on the little plaque hanging on the door. “Fransisco’s name is there as an acknowledgement for his father’s work. The police came to guarantee security, and it makes me so happy that the people are organizing themselves and doing such great things. This is the future we want for our children, a future where everyone has equal chances and where everyone is safe. One day Fransisco is going to come here and understand how this is important for the residents of Babilônia and also for us.

Inside the cultural room, children will have computer skills and guitar lessons with two UPP officers. Soldier Sandro Macedo, 34, has been teaching computer skills for kids ranging from 7 to 12 years old. He told us that now, with the new room, they will be more comfortable, and more children will be able to join. He volunteered himself when the commander of Babilônia’s UPP, Captain Felipe Magalhães, asked who would like to teach the residents how to use the computer. Now he has 40 pupils, and the classes are every Monday and Wednesday in the morning and in the afternoon.

Soldier Fábio Cunha, 29, is a professional musician and has been teaching the kids how to play the guitar for over a year. “It’s a great joy to teach these people. Before I became a cop, I used to teach private lessons, but my pupils weren’t as dedicated as these ones are. It’s so gratifying,” he added. The soldier has 20 guitars at his disposal to teach the children. Ten are lent to students who cannot afford to buy one, so that they can practice at home, and the other ten stay in the room for the classes. Classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning and in the afternoon. There are currently 25 students, mostly children, from 8 years old onwards, but one of the classes has a youthful 60-year-old. With the inauguration of the new room, the teachers hope that the classes will be always full.

Last Saturday (21/05), the Nova Brasília Cinema Club, at Coplexo do Alemão, Rio’s North Zone, welcomed a special preview: the documentary 4 X UPP. The film was directed by four young filmmakers who live in pacified communities in Rio, and the project was coordinated by Cacá Diegues, one of the most prominent Brazilian filmmakers. The preview was attended by the four directors and by the project coordinator, as well as by the Chief Commander of the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs), Col. Robson Rodrigues.

Divided into 25-minutes short films, the documentary shows different aspects of the UPPs. Each episode investigates a different social group involved in the project: the criminals (by Luciano Vidigal); the residents (by Cadu Barcellos); the police officers (Rodrigo Felha) and the residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the favelas (Wagner Novais). The four directors also participated in the famous 5 X Favela – Now by Ourselves.

Besides interviews with the Security Secretary, José Mariano Beltrame, with UPP commanders and with residents and former drug traffickers, the film touches subjects that are still considered polemic inside the occupied communities, such as the permission to throw parties (“bailes funk”) and the inspection of suspects. Col. Robson, who represented the Secretary on the preview, was very pleased with the results and said he was not surprised when he heard that the UPPs were the subject of a documentary. “It’s fantastic to observe how this is a time for reflection. The film makes many interesting points and shows how much we still have to advance, how we still have prejudices to beat. These prejudiced were built during many many years, and it’s going to take us quite a few years to undo them, but we will. A lot has changed already, but the UPP is not the only way to bring security to these communities. It is a project inserted into a larger program, which aims at bringing down the crime rates,” stated the Col., who also said that the film is going to be used as teaching material for officers who are already working on UPPs and for those who are still in training.

Many foreign journalists were among the guests of the preview. According to the organizer of the ACIE (Foreign Press Association in Brazil) film festival and correspondent of the Latin Trade magazine, Mery Galanternick, just a few years ago it would be impossible to have this many guests at Complexo do Alemão. Now this is possible due to the successful security implemented by Rio’s Governor Sérgio cabral and by Rio’s Security Secretary, José Mariano Beltrame. “I wouldn’t be able to bring this many foreign correspondents without fearing something might happen, without asking the drug trafficker and the militia’s leaders for permission. I’m very happy to be able to do this now,” said Mery.

The first screening of the film happened in the beginning of the month, during the Brazilian Film Festival in Paris, and counted on the presence of the Security Secretary. During a debate at the Institut d’Études Politiques, Beltrame stressed that there are still many challenges on his path. “Public security is a delicate issue and we have huge challenges to overcome, but we’ve been achieving some inspiring results, and I know how strong the name UPP is nowadays, both inside and outside of Brazil. People need to understand that those communities were living in a state of war before we entered,” he stated.

In spite of this preview, the documentary still doesn’t have a national release date. “When we were finishing our work on the film, in November last years, the occupation of the Alemão took place, and we decided to film a 5^th episode, directed by the four of us collectively. Therefore, we are waiting for this last part to be done, and only then we’ll be able to release the film, in September or maybe October. We are also changing the name of the film to 5 X UPP, explained Cacá Diegues.

The 17^th Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) was inaugurated today (17/05) in Rio. Commanded by Captain Luiz Piedade, the unit – UPP São Carlos – counts on 252 police officers, amongst them two officials, ten superior officers and 49 women. The unit is responsible for the security of the communities of Zinco, Querosene, Mineira nd São Carlos, situated in the districts of Estácio e Rio Comprido, in Rio1s north zone.

At the age of 36, Captain Luiz has been through a lot in his military career. He has worked as a member of GTAM (special unit of tactics and monitored actions) and of BPCHOQUE (special battalion for conflict situations), commanded ROTAM (ostensive patrolling unit) and different BPMs (Military Police Battalions), where he spent the last two years. According to the Captain, working in the countryside was an apprenticeship for the type of work he does at the UPP. “At Três Retiros, where I come from, I knew everyone in the community. Many complaints were solved just by talking to the residents, so we worked as mediators,” he explains.

Even though he is responsible for the security of the communities under his command, for organizing his troops and for running the unit, Captain Luiz finds time in his busy schedule to play indoor soccer and to practice boxing. A martial arts lover, Luiz boxes once a week and is also a professional judoka. He also likes jogging and has only just started practicing yoga.

Although he is officially taking his post today, the captain and the second commandant, Lieutenant Jairo Dantas, have already walked around the community and talked to the residents, searching for spaces where they can develop sports activities. During this first expedition, the commandants reported finding two inactive sports courts (one at Mineira and another at São Carlos), as well as a swimming pool near Querosene’s peak.

The commanding duo has been visiting the communities for a month. They’ve already met the presidents of the residents association and are trying to figure out the needs of the people who live there. “When I first joined the police, I worked at the 1^o BPM. Sometimes our job required that we went inside these communities to solve a problem, and we always knew it would be like war, because they welcomed us with shots. I’ve seen friends of mine get shot here, and now the residents receive me as a friend. It’s even difficult to describe this feeling; it’s a change of mentality that works both ways – from us in relation to the people and from them in relation to us,” says the captain.

The communities of Zinco, Querosene, Mineira ans São Carlos together have around 17,500 residents. Considering the residents in a radius of 2km, this number rises to 200,000. The headquarters of the UPP were built in Ademar Marcelos Street, 32 – Estácio. The inauguration ceremony was held today, at 10 am, and counted on the presence of Rio’s Governor, Mr. Sérgio Cabral, the Security Secretary, Mr. José Mariano Beltrame, and the Military Police commandant, Col. Mário Sérgio Duarte.

With the arrival of the UPP, the wall was no longer necessary.

The initiative came from the officers of UPP Fogueteiro, Fallet and Coroa, as well as from members of the Pereira Passos Municipal Institute of Urbanism (IPP). The wall, which had been built to avoid innocents getting shot during opposite gangs’ battles, started to be brought down on May 4^th. The construction, built three years before on street 15, stopped people from moving between the communities of Fogueteiro and Querosene when shots were being fired.

“Bringing down the wall represents the end of segregation, because the rival gangs don’t exist anymore. Today we don’t have to worry about being caught off guard by shootings in the middle of the street,” explained the commander of UPP Fogueteiro, Captain Elton Costa. The pacification of the community called Fogueteiro, enabled by the future implementation of UPP São Carlos, which is a neighbor community, also contributed to the peaceful atmosphere that now surrounds the communities. The area is currently being patrolled by the special operations battalion – Bope – and will its UPP inaugurated soon.

The commander states that he will get in touch with the Municipal Secretariat of Education and intercede in the name of the community for the reopening of a Day Care Center that was opened in 2004 but never functioned. Some of its windows were bulletproofed because of the eminent risk of shootings that used to plague the area. There was also an abandoned car in the area that couldn’t be removed because of the wall.

UPP Fallet/Fogueteiro/Coroa was inaugurated in February and is functioning temporarily on a house at Fallet. The definitive headquarters will be built beside the above mentioned Day Care Center. It took one week to bring the wall down. The work was carried out by the Municipal Secretariat of Conservation and Public Development, with help from the Municipal Guard, the Special Secretariat of Public Order, Comlurb and Rioluz.

Over 50 women, among officers’ mums, residents from pacified communities and members of the project “Women for Peace” took part in a special breakfast to celebrate Mother’s Day.

As the residents of Pavão-Pavãozinho walked into the room where breakfast was being served, they would hear from one of the officers: “that one there is my mum.” The meeting between the officers’ mothers and the residents of the community was promoted by the Captain of Pavão-Pavãozinho’s Pacifying Police Unit (UPP), Captain Leonardo Nogueira. The celebration was held in one of the rooms of the building where the project “Projeto Criança Esperança” functions. “We are celebrating a Mother’s Day for Peace. This breakfast is an example of the harmony we are experiencing in the community. I thought it would be a great idea to bring our mothers here, so that they could meet the people we spend most of our days with – they are like our second family. This integration is very important,” he stressed.

The meeting was also an opportunity for the curious mums to visit their sons’ workplace. Housewife Juçara da Rocha, 69, mother of soldier Glória, was thrilled to see the place where her daughter works. She confessed that she was afraid when her daughter said she would become a cop. “I was very worried when Glória was approved at the Police Academy, but now that I understand how her job works, I feel more comfortable, because I can see how much good the UPP does for the community,” said the officer’s mother, who, like all the other mums at the event, received flowers.

Mrs. Luiza da Silva, who has been living in Cantaglo for 54 years, laments that the UPP took so long to come. “I lost a daughter to drug trafficking; she had so many dreams and died at only 34. I think that if the UPP was here before, she would’ve gotten better. I thank God that now my grandson doesn’t have to share the same community with the people who took away my daughter. Today I believe in a better future,” said Mrs. Luiza, who owns a small pastry and sweets delivery.

The breakfast also counted on the presence of the organization Women for Peace. The project’s main goal is to get women to build and strengthen the social networks that prevent and help people fight violence against young people. Nowadays, the project has 180 members acting in both communities – Pavão-Pavãozinho and Cantagalo. It is in this group of women that the UPP officers found their best partners to mediate conflict situations and to earn the trust of residents in the pacified areas.

Cotton candy, bouncing castle, face painting, music, dancing and games – just a few examples of how different the afternoon of last April 20^th was at the municipal day care center in the district of Fallet. The event was a partnership between the day care’s administration and the Pacifying Police Units of of Fallet and Prazeres.

The idea for the party – an Easter celebration – came from two UPP officers, soldiers Augusta and Fabiana: “We had the idea and so we spoke to Captain Elton, and he immediately gave us permission. We spoke to the Day Care’s admin and she thought the idea was great too. So this is the result. The kids are loving it. We are just beginning to show them that this police want what is good for the community. We want the children to grow up with this image of us,” said Fabina, with a big smile on her face, not hiding her satisfaction.

Fabiana’s and Augusta’s initiative spread to her colleagues, who collaborated to help them by popcorn and cotton candy. The celebration also counted on the participation of a few commercial establishments: the cake was donated by Supermarket Prezunic and the soda was donated by Supermarket Extra. But help also came from far away. A children’s party play team came from the district of Barra Mansa, where the mentors come from. Fabiana’s cousin and owner of the children’s party company, Lili, said that she didn’t think twice when her cousin asked her to help. “We live in the suburbs and we read about the UPPs on the newspapers. It was a good way to get a better understanding of the project and to cooperate. We are happy to be here. The idea is to make a difference, to help out. The community is very welcoming and the UPP’s work brings dignity to them,” she observed.

The initiative is a part of the new type of relationship that the pacifying police is trying to establish with the community. The officers try to get to known the residents better and explain their new role as providers for the community. Everyone benefits from it.

The day care’s administration also acknowledged the importance of the actions like this for the children’s development. “Our work here is more tranquil now. The kids are no longer exposed to all that violence. They had an awful idea of what the police was like. Now they’re having the chance to get to know a different police,” the principal Fabiola Daniel da Silva, who has been working at the day care for three years, pointed out.

During the party, kids were running all over the place, accompanied by their parents and the officers, who were having a hard time to keep up with so much energy. The whole troop was satisfied. There were officers helping with the toys, others were distributing food and drinks and other organizing the games. The integration was complete. The difficult part was convincing some of the kids that the party was over and they had to go home – after all, this is type of police action no one wants to cease.

The German deputy interior minister, Klaus Dieter Fritsche, together with six representatives from the German government, visited the Pacifying Police Unit located at Borel, district of Tijuca, on April 4^th. During the visit to the unit, which was responsible for pacifying seven communities in Tijuca, including Borel, Casa Branca and Chacara do Céu, the German entourage was able to see the positive results of the police work in the surrounding areas, such as the increase of the HDI, real state valuation and a lowering violence rates.

The visit began in the morning, when the entourage watched a presentation lead by the department’s sub-Secretary of Planning and Operational Integration, Dr. Roberto Sá, during which he introduced the security projects that are being developed, such as the System of goals and results (SIM), the Pacifying Police Units (UPP) and the Integrated areas of public security (RISP). This triad is responsible for orienting the plans and actions of public security, as well as for the numbers that prove that Rio de Janeiro is undergoing a positive change when it comes to violence.

Captains Elton and Odilon are the commanders of the 15^th and the 16^th Pacifying Police Units (UPPs), which were inaugurated last Friday at the communities of Coroa, Fallet-Fogueteira, Escondidinho and Prazeres, all located in Rio’s city center. Both Captains have been working for the police for almost nine years now, and are considered to be quite the pair. Their football team is two-time champion of the National police officers and firefighters cup, and they are now reunited, facing a new challenge and promising to bring sports to the communities.

“I’ll work with a smile on my face every day. To be chosen as an UPP commander is incredibly gratifying,” said Captain Odilon, who will command 180 police officers at Escondinho and Prazeres UPP.  At the age of 29, Jeferson Silva Odilon has also worked at the Battalions of Méier (3^o BPM) and Leblon (23^o BPM)

Captain Elton, who worked at the special group of mobile tactics (Getam) for three years, is thrilled to be the man in charge of UPP Coroa and Fallet-Fogueteiro. “Four years ago I lost a dear friend during an operation at Coroa. So for me to be here, witnessing the transformation of this community and seeing it come to life again is very moving.” Elton Costa Gomes is 28 years old and will have 200 men at his disposal on this new UPP. Besides working at Getam, he has also worked at another special division, the BPChoque.

The number of people assisted directly by the two new UPPs is 20 thousand. The pacification of the entire São Carlos complex, which is going to receive yet another UPP – at Morro da Mineira – will assist 520 thousand people, if one considers the population in the surroundings. With the new UPPs, the project has now reached 55 communities, and employs a total of 2900 police officers.

The first officer to join the Pacifying Police project is about to take on a new role inside the program. Major Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo is leaving Santa Marta’s command in order to become chief coordinator of the UPPs, at the Superintendence of Operational Planning, inside the Security Department.

The change will be announced to the troops in a meeting that will occur this Friday (11/02), at the battalion’s patio. Pricilla will be the first to occupy the recently created position. Her job will be to formalize and establish norms and patterns for the actions in the UPPs, both in the existent ones and in the ones about to be inaugurated. Besides, with the experience of who has been experiencing the routine of the project for two years now, the Major will be able to contribute to the quality control of the units, as well as to point out the ways to funding and investments.

“We want the experience of a person who is there on site, dealing with the population, in order to direct our investments. We need someone to guide the project and, above all, to work towards maintaining the quality and expanding the program,” said the superintendent of operational planning, Roberto Azir.

At the age of 33, thirteen of which dedicated to the police, the Major is facing this opportunity with the same courage she used to befriend the 6 thousand residents at Santa Marta. “I am happy and sad at the same time. I got really involved with the community and the people who live here, but I know that this will be a great chance for me contribute to the project and to pass on my experience to other communities,” stated Pricilla.

According to Alzir, changing the command of the UPPs is also healthy for the project. “The officer that goes to another unit will be able to spread his knowledge of proximity patrolling. Changing commanders is fundamental for the project because the ideas will be passed onwards, no matter who is in command,” he commented.

Santa Marta’s sub-commander, Rodrigo Andrada, will substitute Pricilla as the commander of the unit.

After a two-hour operation, state and federal police forces occupied nine communities in the São Carlos’ Complex, situated between the districts of Santa Teresa, Rio Comprido and Catumbi, at Rio’s north and central zones. Since long controlled by drug trafficking, the territory was regained without a single firearm being shot. The operation, which started before dawn, at 4a.m, set into motion the project of installing a Pacifying Police Unit in the area.

Altogether, nine favelas were occupied: São Carlos, Zinco, Querosene, Mineira, Coroa, Fallet, Fogueteiro, Escondidinho and Prazeres. The process of pacification inside these communities will reach 26 thousand residents directly. But if one takes into consideration the population in the surrounding areas, who will benefit indirectly, this UPP will assit around 520 thousand people, residing in 17 different neighborhoods.

The action was planned based on the occupations that took place last November at the Alemão Complex and at Vila Cruzeiro, in the district of Penha, and was carried out by officers from the Civil and Military polices, as well as Federal agents, the Federal Highway Police and the Navy, which made 17 armor-clad vehicles and 150 marines available. Altogether, around 1,300 men participated in the occupation.

Rio’s Security Secretary, José Mariano Beltrame, who had been following the occupation from the Control Center assembled at the “Choque” Battalion since 5:30a.m, celebrated the peaceful operation and the reclaiming of the communities.

“Our goal is to occupy territories without contributing to the statistics of stray bullets, homicides or injured civilians. Our biggest concern is with the wellbeing of the population. The criminals will be arrested during the investigations that will follow the installation of the UPP,” he said.

The secretary emphasized that the current security policy prioritizes the regaining of territories that were controlled by drug traffickers. According to him, the UPPs – which are now present in 60 of Rio’s favelas – are a definite step towards reestablishing the peace in the state.

“We have to take definite measures. We are not allowed to make mistakes. Today we have a clear goal, a plan, and the population knows where we want to get. The important thing is to give back the peace and the freedom to the residents of these communities,” stated the secretary.

After being searched for armament, drugs and hidden criminals, São Carlos’ Complex will receive three UPPs still in the first semester of 2011: São Carlos, Fallet/Fogueteiro and Prazeres/Escondidinho. Also during 2011, the units at the Alemão Complex and at Vila Cruzeiro, both at Penha, will open their doors. They are currently being guarded by the army. The number of residents assisted directly reaches 410 thousand, and goes over a million if one considers the surrounding neighborhoods.

The future UPPs at São Carlos Complex will count on 600 officers, out of which 30 corporals and sergeants and six officials.