Overview
- INPE carried out simultaneous searches across all 68 penitentiaries, seizing phones, drugs and weapons while cutting illicit power and communication links in cells.
- The justice minister said the Executive is evaluating listening to and supervising inmate phone calls, with more nationwide searches scheduled under the security push.
- INPE’s chief disclosed that only 30 of 68 prisons have cellphone signal blockers and some do not work properly, and he cited just six bodycams across the system.
- Officials referenced a private contractor’s role in blocking cellular and Wi‑Fi signals and administering prison phones, with potential contract adjustments under review.
- Penitentiary workers reported death threats and severe understaffing and announced an indefinite national strike from November 13, pledging to maintain essential services.