Opinion (Rogério COPETO / Official GNR):THE FORCE OF THE USE OF VISIBILITY.
The use of force is an indispensable tool for any State, whose responsibility for implementation is assigned to your employees, particularly those responsible for law enforcement, Uniformed or not, who exercise police powers, especially powers of arrest and detention.
Rogério COPETO
Lieutenant Colonel of the GNR
Master in Law and Security and Homeland Security Auditor
Head of the Education Division / Command Doctrine and Training
For that all officials responsible for law enforcement, in other words, law enforcement officials, They swear to respect the Constitution and other laws of the Republic, even with the sacrifice of their lives, while its responsibility to society goes far beyond law enforcement, where not infrequently, also they have to use force, where necessary.
I write this article, by reason of last week's events, occurred in the neighborhood of Jamaica, in Seixal, in which elements of the PSP were filmed in a change of the order, where they had to resort to use of force and again this week, with two other videos. The first refers to an arrest of an individual in downtown Lisbon, by elements of the PSP, which once again they had to use force and the second video referring to a statement by the PSP with Ermesinde Sport Club fans 1936, which also they had to use force, para evitar confrontos com os adeptos do São Pedro da Cova, having the three episodes, as features in common, the fact that the PSP have used force to enforce the law and the occurrence have been filmed.
With regard to the use of force in instances mentioned above, it is found that has not been used lethal force, having only the police resorted to physical force, batons and handcuffs, therefore it is not concerned the use of firearms, whose use is also legitimized by the police officers, but never in the situations identified by videos, what consubstanciaria excessive use of force.
So and to carry out its task, law enforcement officials are subject to all the rules that every citizen is obliged, other than those that internally the governing, such as professional status, the code of conduct and discipline Regulation, that require them to observe a set of duties and limited to rights, having the responsibility to ensure the safety of all persons and property, durante as 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, come rain or shine, on days, hours and conditions under which the ordinary citizen is collected in the Hearth, with the sole reward recognition of the population it serves and the consciousness that develops an essential profession in a democratic rule of law, where unsafe, there can be no freedom.
But, all recognize that society in recent years have seen an evolution, also reflecting this evolution is the attitude of citizens before the law enforcement and police respective performances, requiring more moderate and thoughtful responses to fight crime, as opposed to muscular strength, and so the police actions subject to greater scrutiny by society.
Logo, are legitimate reactions that videos mentioned earlier in the article provoked in all sectors of society, and, however, novelty noise that caused, especially two of the three videos listed, for reasons that we will refrain from addressing this Article.
In conclusion is thus, any police report can be filmed, lying so all law enforcement officials warned, that the public is constantly watching what they do and how they do, without prejudice to this scrutiny is necessary to protect the law-abiding and expose those who do not comply. Who should not, not fear.
That is why, and in response to this increased public attention, it is necessary to introduce new protective measures for all law enforcement, which includes the use of "body cameras", which have the advantages of increased safety of law enforcement officers and the general public, because they will act differently, to know they are being filmed, encouraging good behavior of both law enforcement, as the population, leading to a decrease in violence and the use of force.
Another advantage observed is the increased protection against false accusations of misconduct or excessive use of force, can the "body cameras" provide evidence of what really happened in whatever occurrence, still an excellent tool for training of police officers, the analysis identified lessons and experiences of return.
It is also observed that the use of "body cameras" have a great support from the people, identifying however the disadvantage, the invasion of citizens' privacy, exposing victims and witnesses of crimes, damaging the trust between law enforcement and the public.
Weighing the advantages and disadvantages of using "body cameras", it is concluded that its use will be beneficial, both for police officers, and citizens, because the videos that are made public, showing performances where it refers to the use of force, They never reveal what really happened, forgetting easily that the law of agency roles are high risk, often they are placed in situations where they are forced to make decisions in split seconds, many of life or death.
Should however, all actions taken by law enforcement officers, especially when use force, be evaluated and analyzed by the rightful, avoiding the snap judgments, until all the facts that led to the occurrence be known, because it is especially important to judge these decisions based only on facts which were known or perceived by the law agent for the occurrence, as opposed to the facts that became known at a later date, through videos.
As is still true that the ignorance of the majority of citizens which the laws, governing the use of force by law enforcement officers, so easily conclude as inadequate use of force, as evidenced by the hundreds of complaints against law enforcement officers and the low percentage of punishments, concluding the gap between what citizens percecionam as excessive use of force and what the law provides.
Regardless of the rules governing the use of force, it is important that law enforcement officials use common sense and due diligence when determining whether or not to use force and exactly to use force, because all citizens want, rightfully, that their law enforcement, discharge their duties with high ethical standards, fitting them adhere to this standard and always act in the interests of safeguarding lives and property, preserving and protecting, at the same time, the rights of all, particularly the innocent.
That is why, whenever the lawful use of force is unavoidable, law enforcement should: Using force sparingly and its action must be proportionate to the seriousness of the offense and the legitimate objective to be achieved; To minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life; Ensure the provision of assistance and medical care to injured or affected persons, as quickly as possible, and; To ensure the communication of the event to family or people close the wound or affected person, as quickly as possible.
