São Paulo's Military Police, the uniformed force responsible for street policing in Brazil's most populous state, opened 928 internal disciplinary proceedings to investigate signs of improper use of body cameras by officers in the first half of 2026. The figure averages more than five cases a day and marks a 208% rise from the previous six months, when 301 proceedings were opened, Folha de S.Paulo reported on Monday (24).

The data comes from a semiannual report by the state's Public Security Secretariat (SSP), under Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, finalized on August 20. There is no public figure for proceedings opened in the first half of 2025, which prevents a comparison with the same period last year. The report also shows the number of cameras in operation grew 26%, from 11,900 in December to 15,000 in May and June.

What the SSP says

In a statement, the SSP said any comparison of the number of proceedings should take into account the expansion of the body cameras, known in Portuguese as COPs (Portable Operational Cameras), and noted that more than 1 million videos were generated in June alone.

"The use of the cameras is monitored continuously, with periodic training and guidance. Between August 2025 and June 2026, 93.74% of the recordings generated were activated remotely, without depending on any action by the officer wearing the equipment," the secretariat said.

The secretariat also stressed that "opening a proceeding does not mean an infraction occurred." According to the SSP, every indication of improper use is investigated, and any sanctions depend on the conclusion of each case, after the officers involved can present their defense. Some of the most recent investigations are still underway.

Folha has previously reported on recurring cases in which officers switch on the camera only after shots are fired, which prevents the alleged confrontations from being recorded and hampers Civil Police investigations into deaths caused by police.