After attack, SC will place an armed police officer in each state school

The governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello (PL), announced this Monday (10) that all state schools will have at least one armed police officer within 60 days. The decision comes after the attack on the Cantinho Bom Pastor day care center, in Blumenau, which killed four children. The measure was announced during the 100-day government ceremony.

The initiative will be implemented in 1,053 state schools. “We are going to recruit military police, civil police, military firefighters so that they can – in uniform, with a vest, with a gun – go to the schools, one inside each school. It is the least we can give back to society, where children are playing, they have to be together”, said the governor. According to Mello, the initiative will cost R$ 70 million per year.

Since April 5th, according to the government, school rounds have been reinforced in the state. In addition, a “teacher training protocol for quick and safe reaction” in cases of violence should be developed. The “structuring of an integrated police operations center” will also be carried out to increase “the response speed of institutions in emergency scenarios”.

A Permanent School Safety Committee will also be created “to monitor the implementation of actions, evaluate results and suggest new efforts”. The governor pointed out that in the case of kindergartens and municipal schools, armed escort will not be mandatory, since it is the responsibility of each municipality.