Police officers report lack of framework in inquiries

Police officers in charge of investigating the homicides that took place in Curitiba are first to report the problems they are facing. Under the current framework, it is impossible to solve the crimes. Throughout the inquiries, police chiefs, investigators and police records clerks have used strong words to describe the difficulties they have faced regarding their workload.

Cases of officers blowing the whistle are not uncommon. The reporters from Gazeta do Povo found more than 700 alarming calls throughout the analysis of one thousand inquiries. In January 2011, a police records clerk complained about the fact that he had to deal with more than 800 inquiries simultaneously. In March 2012, another clerk reported the same situation: he stated that he had more than 1,400 legal proceedings in his office.

Police clerks have to enclose a standard document to the inquiry when needing to postpone the deadline of an investigation. Reports show that on top of weekend and night shifts, there are "countless procedures that require immediate attention. The further away from the fact, the more difficult it becomes to solve the procedure". The text to which Gazeta do Povo had access concludes that "it has been impossible for a single human-being to follow up all the police inquiries under (my) responsibility".

In February 2010, a police officer admitted that he had temporarily given up investigating the homicide of a victim named C.C. "In such circumstances, I had to interrupt my investigations for an indefinite period due to the countless number of police reports. If any concrete fact or information appears, I will immediately transmit it to the police chief taking care of the case". Three years later, the homicide remains unsolved.

Blowing the whistle "In such circumstances, I had to interrupt my investigations for an indefinite period due to the countless number of police reports under my responsibility. If any concrete fact or information appears, I will immediately transmit it to the police chief taking care of the case."

"I certify that, due to the large amount of pending inquiries in this office, added to the weekend shifts we work on top of our regular weekly working hours, which include working at night doing operation and considering the excessive amount of working hours we have, as well as resolving in the act crimes, it has been impossible for a single-human being to follow up all the inquiries."

"As of the date cited above I have received more than 600 inquiries. As we have been dealing with other emergencies, we have been unable to analyze them."