the strength of women in public security in DF

They make a difference and are a reference of strength and determination. These are women who risk their lives to save others, they need to balance their professional life, home and family. Sometimes, they are underestimated in the environment in which they spend most of their time: work. But the obstacles become “small chips” when compared to the effort and competence carried out by women in the security forces. In the DF, the total number of military, criminal and fire police officers is 18,245 employees. Of this total, 3,129 are female (see numbers in corporations). Until the closing of this edition, the Civil Police had not sent its data.

O Mail interviewed four women from the respective forces. They talk about entering the career, the difficulties, the abdications and the challenges of the profession. In DF, for the first time, women commanded the Military Police (PMDF), the Fire Department (CBMDF) and the Federal Highway Police (PRF-DF) of a capital. Colonel Ana Paula Barros Habka, general commander of the PM, took office in January this year, after then commander Adão Teixeira retired. The first woman to command the corporation was Colonel Sheyla Sampaio, between January and August 2019.

At CBMDF, Colonel Mônica Miranda remained in command from January 2023 until April 16 of this year, when she compulsorily retired, after 31 years of service. In her place was Colonel Sandro Gomes Santos da Silva. At PRF-DF, Adriana Mancilha Pivato assumed the post and is the first woman to command the force in the capital. The police officer was chosen by the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski.

Since 2006 at PRF, Adriana has worked in some areas in her career, such as the Special Operations Center (NOE/MS), at the PRF Corporate University (UniPRF), the Corporate Education Center (NEC/CE) and the Center’s Strategic Project National Road Safety Studies Department, from the Operations Directorate (Diop).

Dreams

Letícia Batista de Oliveira, 32 years old, joined the PMDF in December 2020, but pursuing a police career was a teenage dream. Graduated in law since 2013, the Minas Gerais native began studying for the PM exam in 2015. From then on, she began a long phase in her life. “I failed 10 times and that frustrated me a lot, because I saw my study friends passing and me falling behind. I tried Minas Gerais, Goiás, Tocantins, and I always hit the beam”, she recalls.

He deprived himself of relationships and family events for almost three years. During the clash, she heard jokes from people close to her and even requests to give up, but she persisted. In 2017, she started working as a commission officer at PMDF and had no doubts about the career she intended to follow. There were years of studying in the early hours of the morning until, in 2018, she was approved in the corporation’s competition. “It was an eight-month training course and exclusive dedication. I had a lot of injuries, I got hurt, but I dreamed of being there. Every time I got tired, I thought about the nights I studied. God didn’t allow me to spend it anywhere else, because my place was here”, he says.

Letícia feels fulfilled in the corporation. She says that there are many questions about the differences in treatment between men and women. “There is a certain hidden prejudice. They are jokes, cute, but I don’t mind. I always take it as a joke, because, whether I like it or not, it is a profession that requires physical strength”, she says. The police officer works at Rádio Patrulhamento and comes across every possible type of incident, from the simplest to the violent. “I saw everything, from the pain and suffering of seeing a child go hungry to women being attacked by their partners. What I can confirm is that every family that has a degree of domestic violence has drugs and drinking in the mix. The second proof is that , in most cases, it is women who support the house, whether with assistance received from the government or with hard-earned employment”, he assesses.

Persistence

Débora Martins Costa, 36, has been a firefighter for 10 years in DF. Being in a profession admired by the population was not the dream. She pursued a career as a lawyer, until her father, who is a major in the Fire Department, entered her in the competition. “I asked him, because I hadn’t studied and I don’t like doing anything without having studied. But I did. I got the notice two months before the test, I did a brief review and saw that it was practically a high school subject. I told my father that I would go based on my high school knowledge and whatever God wanted. Before the test, I prayed and asked God for His will to be done”, he recalls.

Once approved, Débora underwent several training courses at the corporation — search and rescue in collapsed structures; operational of dangerous products; aquatic meta room (lifeguard); piloting and operational vessels; and rescue diving, the current capacity sector, among others.

Considered one of the most challenging professions, being a firefighter means facing high-risk situations, constant pressure and even putting your life in danger to save someone else’s. Débora, who is a 3rd sergeant and rescue diver, knows what this is. One of the most memorable events for her was the rescue of a baby in Lake Paranoá. “That one really impacted me. It came to us as if the victim was a teenager, who had been swimming and drowned. While I was diving, I found the baby. At the time, I only remembered my niece who had just been born. It was very painful” , vent.

Débora says she is flattered to be a firefighter. “I have always been very dedicated and disciplined in everything I do and I get results from that. The respect you earn when you show your competence through your service is indisputable”, she guarantees. “Being a reference for many people is a privilege, but it requires you to deal with the pressure of being observed at all times, there is no room for error, you become a reflection of what people expect from you and from themselves, as they reflect on you. Sometimes, this burden is a little heavy, but doing what you like, always looking for your best and returning home knowing that your excellence was provided in the service minimizes all this pressure”, he declares.

Challenge

When criminal police officer Elisângela de Souza, 47, finished pedagogy at the Catholic University of Brasília (UCB), she never imagined entering the profession. She taught primary school for six years. In 2008, seeking financial stability, she started taking exams. Between one test and another, she took the exam to become a criminal police officer, at the time called penitentiary technician. Approval was gained quickly and, within a short time of acting, she found herself falling in love with her career.

The scenario found when he arrived at the corporation, in 2009, was completely different from what we see today. The police officer remembers that there were few women and now there are 618. “It’s a big evolution and we need to remember those who came before, because if we are fighting now, they fought much more”, she highlights. She reports that there are, indeed, situations in which some people are sexist, even if unintentionally, but that everyone fights against it.

On duty on a 24 x 72 scale, in control of the blocks, he also works in voluntary service, the rest of the week, helping with the inspection of visitors. “In addition, I work on bringing projects to the system, for women. Today, I am part of the quality of life at work project, which is being implemented. We are organizing ourselves to apply it, because security work, in In general, it sucks a lot and there is a high level of illness”, he highlights.

Asked about the most significant moment in her profession, she spoke about the pandemic, when she became inmate care manager and took care of the health of inmates in the complex opened to house inmates who tested positive for Covid-19. “This was the biggest challenge of my career. I accompanied the team that opened the complex and was the assistance manager. We did a beautiful job. We delivered CDP 2, at the beginning of 2021, without any deaths”, he says, adding that is proud of the trajectory.

“I want to complete our projects so that the next police officers can get a milder system. We think a lot about taking up our space so that the next ones who come have to fight a little less, until one day we can stop fighting and just be “, ends.

Determination

Police chief Cláudia Alcântara, 60, president of the Union of Civil Police Delegates (Sindepo-DF), has a long history of love with the profession. She started her career as a police clerk and, after 12 years, decided that she really wanted to lead investigations. She graduated in law at Ceub and didn’t drop out of courses until she passed the exam.

Throughout her 25-year career, Cláudia held several positions. She headed police stations, was director of the Higher Civil Police School (EsPC), general inspector, undersecretary of Intelligence and secretary of Justice. “Today, I am the first woman to occupy this class-based position that, until then, was reserved for men”, she points out. Cláudia was elected president of the union at the end of 2022.

The delegate notes that, when she joined the police, she was afraid that she would need to have “masculine mannerisms” to be respected. “I soon realized that I didn’t need that, that I could be a woman, be respected and perform my role as a police authority. To do this, all I needed to do was have some skills, such as emotional balance, which is fundamental, respect and empathy with the community”, he emphasizes. For her, determination is an essential characteristic of police chiefs.

“Since I joined, the number of women working in the Civil Police has increased a lot, but I feel that, even today, for women to reach management positions, it is more difficult. It is a reality that I observe, although I understand that today it is easier , but it is still not the same as that faced by men”, he highlights.

Wife and mother of two children, her husband is her biggest fan. “He accompanies me at events, takes photos, talks to my friends. When I started pursuing all this, I was already married, and having children and a husband never stopped me at all in my professional career. We need to be determined in everything we want We cannot put obstacles in front of us”, he adds.

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