POLÍCIA DO SALVADOR

Ever since I announced that I was doing study abroad in Brazil, people have been warning me about how careful I need to be and about how dangerous going to Brazil is alone, and especially Salvador. However, as soon as we got off the plane, I was caught extremely off guard by the number of police officers and security that I surrounded us. Throughout the trip I have been playing attention to the police and was able to capture a few pictures of what I saw.

Everywhere I looked there were officers. And what really surprised me was how heavy duty their everyday attire was. Yes, I felt comfortable knowing that if something were to ever happen, there would be police nearby. However, it was also really scary. Here were men and women that have been trained to protect and fight crime, and they deem it necessary to have all of this heavy duty artillery on them at all times. They know what is expected, and they have seen the best and worst possible scenarios on several occasions. This was a big wake up call to me that I must continue to be extra cautious of my surroundings.

Something that I thought was really cool and unique was that I have seen several times Moscow these huge police vans. Inside of them are usually about 3-5 police officers that just hang out in the back of the van. There are seats and tables in the back as well and the van serves as somewhat of a mobile command post.

This is pretty common around Salvador, and I think that it is really great that the government and the police are trying very hard to make this city a safer place. For having a reputation of being extremely dangerous and a place with high crime rates, I am glad to see that it is an issue that they are taking very seriously.