São Paulo: Tarcísio and Nunes announce joint action to contain the advance of Cracolândia

This Tuesday (24th), the Government of São Paulo and the city hall of the capital launched a program to be implemented in the region of Cracolândia (Crackland), in the center, in yet another attempt to end the flow of drug users in the region.

The action plan for assisting drug addicts and revitalizing the central area of the capital was announced by governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) and by mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) and will be coordinated by the deputy governor, Felício Ramuth.

The initiative has the support of the São Paulo State Court of Justice (TJSP), the State Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-SP), the State Public Defender’s Office, and brings together state and municipal health, safety and assistance programs to serve the population.

According to the government and the city hall, the package of actions was built based on the diagnosis of actions for users of psychoactive substances in the central region and the contribution of doctors, specialists and representatives of civil society.

The action plan is structured in four central points:

• the qualified approach to users through specialized professionals;
• offer of several lines of care for the treatment of chemical dependency;
• complete integration of the care journey, with follow-up in state and municipal equipment;
• and the full offer of public services on all fronts, through the updating of the single registry.

“The goal is to guarantee drug addicts an opportunity for social reintegration, a way out of addiction. We are going to improve the approach work at the end and expand the possibilities of treating and monitoring these people throughout the process”, explained Tarcísio de Freitas.

The state government will hire 200 professionals specialized in chemical dependency and another 50 support professionals to carry out this activity. These teams will have 25 new vehicles for logistical support during these activities.

The Reference Center for Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (Cratod) will be reformulated and will act as a new service hub for users of psychoactive substances and their families.

The unit, in addition to a halfway house with 40 spaces, will house spaces for representatives of the Public Ministry, the Judiciary and civil society, through collectives and mutual aid groups.

The State will also expand the service capacity to users in therapeutic communities, according to medical indication.

There will be 1,000 new vacancies, 500 of them for immediate use.

Another 264 beds for detoxification will also be available for care in general hospitals, at the Institute for the Study of Alcohol at the University of São Paulo (USP Cotoxó), and at the Helvétia Unit, which will be restructured.

Through the multidisciplinary intersectoral protocol between the State and the City Hall, it will be possible to monitor the entire trajectory of the user within the municipal and state support networks throughout the stages of care (reception, treatment and reintegration).

ASSISTANCE, SECURITY AND REVITALIZATION

All activities in the action plan for the central region of São Paulo will be monitored by smart cameras connected to the Integrated Command and Control Center (CICC) of the Public Security Secretariat.

In all, 500 devices installed around the entire sub-district of Sé will transmit images in real time.

Preventive policing activities in the area will be intensified by the Military Police and the Metropolitan Civil Guard, as well as investigative and judicial police work by the Civil Police.

The municipality will act more directly in the coordination of the delegated activity.

Military Police teams in the area will be able to register an occurrence for judicial purposes, forwarding it directly to the judicial authorities, avoiding the displacement of police officers to the police station, except in cases of flagrante delicto.

In the social area, the State and City Hall will provide social rent of R$1,200 per month for up to five thousand families already served by municipal public facilities such as shelters and hotels.

The funds will be transferred directly to the property owners. A new Bom Prato Paulistano unit will be built in the central region.

In addition, the State, City Hall, TJSP, MPSP and the Public Defender’s Office will form a working group to discuss the implementation of Therapeutic Justice.

Provided for in the Anti-Drug Law, this is a proposal for a criminal transaction for those involved in crimes of lesser offensive potential related to chemical dependence on alcohol or drugs, who may accept referral for treatment of chemical dependence in shelter or hospitalization, as an alternative to prison in the act.

The São Paulo judiciary already carries out an experiment in this sense in the Forum of Santana.

Among the reurbanization measures in the central area are:

• the delivery of 190 new apartments on Alameda Cleveland by the end of the first quarter;
• the construction of 600 new housing units in the Campos Elíseos region;
• and the revitalization of Praça da Sé and around CPTM Brás station.

With information from Gazeta Brasil