Brazil Looks at Lotteries, Private Sector to Finance Public Security

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s President, Michel Temer, is expected to sanction on Wednesday a law that will allow the government to use revenues from public lotteries for public security programs. The government has also signed an agreement that will allow the private sector to invest in public security.

“For the coming year we have an expectation of R $ 2 billion in investments in public security,” said Public Security Minister, Raul Jungmann during a press conference at the headquarter of Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) in Rio de Janeiro.

The minister said that the revenues obtained from the lotteries could be used to buy equipment for security forces such as electronic fencing, technology, and weapons as well as the acquisition of monitoring items such as electronic anklets and drones.

The official stressed however that the money would not be used for the payment of personnel.

Minister Jungmann also announced that the federal government has signed a technical cooperation agreement with Brazil’s Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), that will enable the private sector to invest in public security. Under the agreement, it will be possible to create investment funds in this area.

According to the Minister the initiative does not mean the privatization of public security. “The operation is totally public,” he said.

“For them that integration is important, because after all we are protecting values, jobs, taxes and other things. So the private sector does it [invests] and we operate it. We have a trained and specialized staff. We do not often have the capacity to invest and this is going to be our interest,” concluded Jungmann.