- •Constitution of the federative republic of brazil, 1988
- •Preamble
- •Title I. Fundamental principles
- •Chapter I - individual and collective rights and duties
- •Chapter II - social rights
- •Chapter III - nationality
- •Chapter IV - political rights
- •Chapter V - political parties
- •Title III. The organization of the state chapter I. The political and administrative organization
- •Chapter II. The union
- •Chapter III. The federated states
- •Chapter IV. The municipalities
- •Chapter V - the federal district and the territories section I - the federal district
- •Section II - the territories
- •Chapter VI - intervention
- •Chapter VII. Public administration section I - general provisions
- •Section II - civil servants
- •Section III - the military of the states, of the federal district and of the territories
- •Section IV - the regions
- •Title IV- the organization of the powers chapter I - the legislative power section I - the national congress
- •Section II - powers of the national congress
- •Section III - the chamber of deputies
- •Section IV - the federal senate
- •Section V - deputies and senators
- •Section VI - the sessions
- •Section VII - the committees
- •Section VIII - the legislative process subsection I - general provision
- •Subsection II - amendments to the constitution
- •Subsection III - the laws
- •Section IX - accounting, financial and budgetary control
- •Chapter II - the executive power section I - the president and the vice president of the republic
- •Section II - duties of the president of the republic
- •Section III - liability of the president of the republic
- •Section IV - the ministers of state
- •Section V - the council of the republic and the national defense council subsection I - the council of the republic
- •Subsection II - the national defense council
- •Title V - the defense of the state and of the democratic institutions chapter I - the state of defense and the state of siege section I - the state of defense
- •Section II - the state of siege
- •Section III - general provisions
- •Chapter II - the armed forces
- •Chapter III - public security
- •Title VI - taxation and budget chapter I - the national tax system section I - general principles
- •Section II - limitations on the power to tax
- •Section III - federal taxes
- •Section IV - state and federal district taxes
- •Section V - municipal taxes
- •Section VI - tax revenue sharing
- •Chapter II - public finances section I - general rules
- •Section II - budgets
- •Title VII - the economic and financial order chapter I - the general principles of the economic activity
- •Chapter II - urban policy
- •Chapter III - agricultural and land policy and agrarian reform
- •Chapter IV - the national financial system
- •Section II - health
- •Section III - social security
- •Section IV - social assistance
- •Chapter III - education. Culture and sports section I - education
- •Section II - culture
- •Section III - sports
- •Chapter IV - science and technology
- •Chapter V - social communication
- •Chapter VI - environment
- •Chapter VII - family, children, adolescents and the elderly
- •Chapter VIII - indians
- •Title IX - general constitutional provisions
- •Temporary constitutional provisions act
- •Brazil Constitution 1988: translated, updated and commented
Chapter III - public security
Article 144. Public security, the duty of the State and the right and responsibility of all, is exercised to preserve public order and the safety of persons and property, by means of the following agencies: I - federal police; II - federal highway police; III - federal railway police; IV - civil polices; V - military polices and military fire brigades. Paragraph 1 - The federal police, instituted by law as a permanent body, organized and maintained by the Union and structured into a career, have the following competences:
Paragraph 1, text in purple added by CA 19, June 4th 1998.
I - to investigate criminal offenses against the political and the social order or to the detriment of property, services and interests of the Union and of its autonomous government entities and public companies, as well as other offenses with interstate or international effects and requiring uniform repression as the law shall establish;
Law 8137, Dec. 27th 1990, defines crimes against the tax and economic order, and establishes that such crimes are competence of the Federal Police. The Law 10446, May 8th 2002, defines the crimes with interstate or international effects and others requiring uniform repression.
II - to prevent and repress the illegal traffic of narcotics and like drugs, as well as smuggling, without prejudice to action by the treasury authorities and other government agencies in their respective areas of competence; III - to exercise the functions of maritime, airport and border police;
Clause III amended by CA 19, June 6th 1998. Original text read "maritime, air and border police".
IV - to exercise, exclusively, the functions of criminal police of the Union. Paragraph 2 - The federal highway police are a permanent body structured into a career and intended, according to the law, to patrol ostensibly the federal highways. Paragraph 3 - The federal railway police are a permanent body, organized and maintained by the Union and structured into a career and intended, according to the law, to patrol ostensibly the federal railways.
Paragraph 1, text in purple added by CA 19, June 4th 1998.
Paragraph 4 - It is incumbent upon the civil police, directed by career police comissioners and except for the competence of the Union, to exercise the functions of criminal police and to investigate criminal offenses, with the exception of the military ones. Paragraph 5 - It is within the competence of the military polices the ostensive policing and the maintenance of the public order; it is incumbent upon the military fire brigades, in addition to the duties defined by law, to carry out activities of civil defense. Paragraph 6 - The military polices and military fire brigades, ancillary forces and reserve of the Army, are subject, together with the civil police, to the Governors of the states, of the Federal District and of the territories. Paragraph 7 - The law shall regulate the organization and operation of the agencies responsible for public security in such a manner as to guarantee the efficiency of their activities. Paragraph 8 - The municipalities may organize municipal guards to protect their property, services and facilities, as the law shall establish. Paragraph 9. The remuneration of the policemen serving the bodies mentioned in this article shall be fixed in the way provided for in article 39, paragraph 4.
Paragraph 9 added by CA 19, June 4th 1998.