(on Portuguese)

      Saveznim ustavom Brazila uspostavljeno je pet različitih policijskih organizacija: federalna policija, federalne patrole autocesta, federalna željeznička policija, državne vojne policije i vatrogasne brigade te državne civilne policije. Nad prve tri ingerencije ima federalna vlada, a ostale su pod upravom saveznih država. Sve su policijske snage dijelovi izvršne vlasti bilo federalnih bilo lokalnih. Glavne su im zadaće održavanje reda i mira. Ukoliko je prekršen federalni zakon, djeluje federalna policija, inače to obavljaju lokalne vlasti.

      In Brazil, the Federal Constitution establishes five different law enforcement institutions: the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the Federal Railway Police, the State Military Police and Fire Brigade, and the State Civil Police. Of these, the first three are affiliated to federal authorities and the other two subordinated to state governments. All police institutions are part of the Executive branch of either federal or state government. There are two primary police functions: maintaining order and law enforcement. When criminal offences are committed in violation of federal laws, federal police forces carry out those functions.

*ABOUT BRASILIAN MILITARY & CIVILIAN POLICE  O VOJNOJ I CIVILNOJ POLICIJI

      Vojna policija (Portugalski: Polícia Militar, PM) je naziv za "preventivne" policijske snage, pozornike (u HR temeljna policija). Svaka od saveznih država ima svoj korpus vojne policije koji vrši prevenciju zločina (patroliranje, privođenja i ostale tipične poslove temeljne policije) dok se "civilna policija" bavi detektivskim poslom, forenzikom i kriminalističkim istragama. Ovlasti među tim dvjema policijama variraju od države do države. Na primjer, u saveznoj državi Rio de Janeiro, (gdje je vojna policija na lošem glasu) ovlasti su joj strogo ograničene. Iako ime doslovno znači vojna policija, nalaze se pod upravom guvernera, a ne federalnih institucija.

      The Military Police (Portuguese: Polícia Militar, or PM) is the name of the preventive state police forces in Brazil. Each of the states of Brazil has their own corps of military police, which carries out preventive police duties, while the "Civil Police" carries out detective work, forensics and criminal investigation. The exact balance of the policing workload varies from state to state. For instance, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, where the military police has a particularly bad reputation, its duties are much more limited. Although the name literally means military police, implying a gendarmerie, under normal circumstances these forces are under the authority of the state governor, as opposed to being a national institution, as is the norm in the Gendarmerie model.