Organisations launch campaign against Sergio Moro’s ‘anti-crime pack’

The organisations consider the proposals made by the Justice and Public Security minister to be inadequate to deal with the public security crisis in the country

On Wednesday 27 March, at the Chamber of Deputies, several civil society organisations launched the campaign ‘Anti-Crime Package – a fake solution’. Public security specialists and activists were at the launch.

This action is a response to the text of the Anti-Crime Bill proposed by the current Justice and Social Security minister, Sérgio Moro. If approved, this bill will make it possible to modify a number of Brazilian laws on corruption, serious crime and organised crime. In practice, the bill means tougher sentences and would give the police, the legal system and the Public Prosecutor’s Office more power.

According to the assessment made by the organisations, the changes in question are unconstitutional and would be inefficient in reverting the public security crisis in the country.

In February, the Brazilian Institute of Criminal Science (IBCCRIM), the Defence Institute for the Right to Defence (IDDD) and the Public Defender’s Offices in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo launched a document with eleven proposals to counter the points in Sérgio Moro’s bill.

In a letter, the organisations call for the creation of national plans to reduce the prison population and for measures to lower the number of civilians killed by public security officers.

In addition, they highlight certain criteria in the package that they believe to be unconstitutional, such as provisional sentencing which means imprisonment before the defendant has finished trying for all possible appeals. In other words, before the final sentence has been passed. This goes against the principle of presumption of innocence.