Civil servants concerned about robberies on the Esplanade.
Ministry of Agriculture officials created a security commission; since June 2011 there have been 14 robberies and kidnappings in the area.
Public servants working in the Esplanada dos Ministérios (government buildings area) are denouncing the lack of security in the area's parking lots. Tires, sound systems, and even cars have been stolen. At the Ministry of Agriculture alone, from June 2011 to March 2012, employees reported 14 incidents, including robberies and express kidnappings.
Ministry officials decided to create a security committee. They hope to join forces with officials from other departments to reduce crime on the Esplanade.
The president of the association of employees of the Ministry of Agriculture, Celso Cordeiro Silva, is requesting increased police presence at the site. "The main change is the continuous presence of the Military Police and the Civil Police," Silva commented.
A Ministry of Health employee, who wished to remain anonymous, had his car stolen last week after two armed men approached him as he arrived at work around 13 p.m. "The guy came up, pulled out a gun, put it to me and said, 'Look, don't try to start the car. Lie down on the ground here because we just want your car.' They were armed," he recounted.
The Military Police reports that the Esplanade of Ministries has been monitored since the week before last by two additional motorcyclists, in addition to the 14 patrol cars that already patrol the area.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Mauricio Gouveia, commander of the 6th Battalion of the Military Police, the crimes may be being committed by the same people. "It is suspected that a number of crimes were committed by the same people," stated Gouveia. The police also advise victims to file a police report to facilitate the mapping of problem areas.
With information from G1.