CAT/OP/BRA/3 IV. Overarching issues 14. The State understands the urgent need to improve the situation of persons deprived of their liberty, and that the Government has taken some concrete steps in this regard. However, the ambitious policies that have been articulated must be enhanced and promptly implemented in order to address systemic issues that present serious risks of torture and illtreatment for persons deprived of their liberty. These issues are detailed below in sections A-D below. A. 1. Treatment and torture by police Need for prevention, investigation and sanctions 15. Police in Brazil are deployed primarily at the state level, where they are separated into civil and military police operating independently of one another. The Subcommittee is deeply concerned at numerous allegations concerning violent acts by the military police, which conducts patrols to maintain public order and arrests suspects. Specifically, the Subcommittee interviewed several detainees who claimed that officers of the military police, including officers of the motorcycle police unit, used disproportionate force when conducting arrests: pepper spray, rubber bullets, sticks, tasers delivering electric shocks and plastic bags placed over detainees’ heads, sometimes for prolonged periods. The Subcommittee notes that these methods may constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and recalls the State’s obligation under article 11 of the Convention to keep under systematic review methods of interrogation and arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment, with a view to preventing torture. 16. In its 2012 report to the State party, the Subcommittee expressed concern regarding allegations of severe ill-treatment of detainees and inhumane conditions of transportation by vehicle. The Subcommittee had received allegations that detainees were crowded into vehicles with little or no ventilation and were handcuffed in uncomfortable positions. These conditions persist. 17. The Subcommittee also received several allegations concerning the use of force by specialized units of the military police conducting raids inside prisons and pretrial detention facilities. In one facility, it heard allegations that police officers had threatened inmates, assaulting them with pepper spray, brandishing guns, beating them and destroying their personal belongings. The Subcommittee was informed that such raids were outsourced to a private company, highlighting the need for proper oversight over subcontractors who are assigned police-type duties while in contact with persons deprived of their liberty. 18. The Subcommittee further received information concerning a steady increase in the number of deaths inflicted by police officers that are improperly classified as lawful “resistance killings”. The Subcommittee is also very concerned at reports that black individuals represent a highly disproportionate number of those killed by on-duty police officers. 19. Urging the State party to take action to prevent, investigate and prosecute acts of torture and killings by police officers, the Subcommittee recommends: (a) Mandatory comprehensive training for police officers before deployment, familiarizing them with the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment, as well as ongoing training and evaluation. The training should include instruction on the use of non-lethal methods in apprehending suspects, techniques of modern forensic 5