Santa Catarina state Prison Police (2021 since)

The Prison Police (in portuguese: Polícia Penal), formerly known as Penitentiary Agent Services, is the institution responsible for the security and custody of prisoners throughout Brazil. The history of the Criminal Police in the country dates to the 19th century, when the first Brazilian prison institutions were created.
 
In 1831, the Imperial Criminal Procedures Code established the figure of the jailer as a justice court official responsible for the custody of prisoners. However, the jailer profession was not regulated, and often the people who exercised this function did not have adequate qualifications or specific training. Neither minimum social guarantee when retired.
 
Over the years, several initiatives have emerged to improve the Brazilian prison system and ensure the safety of prisoners and staff. In 1984, the Criminal Execution Law was enacted, which provides for the creation of a specific career for professionals working in prisons.
 
From the 1990s, several Brazilian states created their own institutions, with the aim of professionalizing custody and security work in prisons.
 
In 2014, Law nº 12,993 was sanctioned, which changed the wording of article 144 of the Federal Constitution, including Penitentiary Officers in the list of institutions responsible for public security, alongside the Military, Civil and Federal Polices. The constitutional change was an important achievement for penitentiary agents, who came to recognize their role in guaranteeing order and security in the prison system.
 
However, the regulation of the Prison Police career at the federal level only occurred in 2019, with the enactment of Constitutional Amendment No. 104. This amendment to the Federal Constitution recognizes the Prison Police as an institution that is part of the public security system, with specific functions of security and custody of prisoners. From this regulation, the Prison Police career became an option for those who wish to work in public security and in the Brazilian prison system.
 
The creation of the Prison Police represents a step forward in the professionalization and enhancement of penitentiary agents, who now have a recognized police career regulated by law. The new institution also has the potential to improve the management of the prison system and ensure more efficient and fair penal execution.
 
On October 28, 2021, the governor of Santa Catarina at the time, Carlos Moisés, sanctioned the legislation establishing and regulating the State of Santa Catarina Prison Police.
 
After this short briefing about the Prison Police history, lets talk about the hierarchy and roles insignias.
 
About the ranks. The prison police in Santa Catarina has eight levels of hierarchy and salaries, from 1st to 8th class. And, curiously, in a very simple way, they are represented by patches on the collars of agents' uniforms with numbers in Roman numerals ranging from I to VIII.
 

About the roles. Any officer at any level can assume one of nine different prison police roles. They (roles) are represented by patches on the collars of agents' uniforms.

Márcio Trocado