CAT/C/39/2 page 11 B. Law enforcement 1. Police forces 23. The different police forces and their respective tasks are described in article 144 of the Constitution. Brazil has a federal police force, as well as a specialized federal police force for highways and railways. There are also State police forces, i.e. the civil and the military police, which are responsible for security and guaranteeing the peace. 24. States are responsible for their own civil and military police forces, which report to the state Governor. The civil police carry out the functions of judicial police and investigate criminal offences, except military ones, while the military police maintain public order and exercise the functions of public policing. The latter is a uniformed force. Arrests “in flagrante” are usually carried out by the military police, although civil police reportedly also exercise powers of arrest. The military police is sometimes responsible for the external security of penitentiary centres. In addition, according to information received from police authorities, the military police is sometimes responsible for the internal security of certain penitentiary centres, due to their high security risk. The civil police oversee police stations, including those that continue to hold public jails. All other centres are managed by prison guards. 2. Oversight bodies 25. The corregedorias (police internal oversight offices) are responsible for the initial administrative investigation of police misconduct. In most states, there is a corregedoria for the civil police and another for the military police, tasked with monitoring the respective police force. Following the conclusion of an investigation, the corregedorias may either file the case if the allegations are unsubstantiated; propose disciplinary sanctions including reprimands or suspensions; recommend the dismissal of the police officer concerned subject to approval of the state Governor; and send the case to the public prosecutor for further action. 26. The ouvidorias a polícia (police ombudsman’s offices) also constitute an additional oversight body which monitors police conduct. The first police ouvidoria was established in São Paulo in 1996. The police ovidorias may receive allegations of police misconduct and forward them to the police corregedorias, which will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to open an administrative inquiry. Hence, they do not investigate the allegations submitted to them. The police ovidorias may also transmit a case directly to the Public Prosecutor’s office, when they consider there is sufficient evidence of this conduct even if the case has been filed by the police or the corregedoria. 3. Forensic medical institutes (Instituto Medico-Legal) 27. Forensic Medical Institutes are responsible for all medical investigations, and in this context may detect possible cases of torture or ill-treatment. These institutes generally respond to the State Secretary for Public Security, which is the same authority with responsibility over the State police forces. It should be noted that the Forensic Medical Institute of Belém, for example, has been provided with a certain degree of independence by the State Governor.