Brazilian Military Police

Military Police Polícia Militar
Insignia of the Military Police used since 1957.
Active	1809 - Present
Country	Brazil
Type	Gendarmerie
Size	450,000 active personnel
Part of	Military Reserve Force of Brazilian Army
Nickname(s)	PM
Patron	Joaquim José da Silva Xavier
Anniversaries	April 21
Engagements	1828 - Mercenary Revolt (Royal Guard Police of Rio de Janeiro) 1835 - Ragamuffin War 1835 - Cabanagem 1835 - Malê Revolt 1838 - Balaiada 1848 - Praieira Revolt 1851 - Ronco da Abelha Revolt 1864 - Paraguayan War 1874 - Quebra-Quilos Revolt 1874 - Revolt of the Muckers 1893 - Revolt of the Navy 1893 - Federalist Revolution 1893 - War of Canudos Fight against the Cangaço 1904 - Vaccine Revolt 1912 - Contestado War 1922 - Tenente Revolts 1924 - Revolts of 1924 1925 - Prestes Column 1930 - Revolution of 1930 1932 - Revolution of 1932 1935 - Communist Revolt 1967 - Guerrilla Warfares Fights against narcotraffickers 2006 - Mid-2000s São Paulo violence 2010 - 2010 Rio de Janeiro Security Crisis
Commanders
Commander	Governors of the States
Ceremonial chief	General-Commander of each PM

Military Police (Portuguese: Polícia Militar, IPA: [puˈlisjɐ miliˈtaʁ], also known as PM, [peˈẽmi]) are a type of preventive state police in every state of Brazil. The Military Police units, which have their own formations, rules and uniforms depending on the state, are responsible for maintaining public order across the country including the Federal District and its capital, Brasília. Deployed solely to act as a deterrent against the commission of crime, units do not conduct criminal investigations. Detective work, forensics and prosecutions are undertaken by a state's Civil Police.

In 1999 the National Public Security Force (Portuguese: Força Nacional de Segurança Pública) was created to handle any significant security crisis. The unit, which is composed of the most qualified Military Police personnel from all federal states, can only be deployed through the express command of a state governor.

All state Military Police and Military Firefighters Corps are classed as reserve troops and forces of the Brazilian Army. In time of war (or other emergencies) the military police forces can be pressed into federal service. But they remain distinct from the provosts belonging to the other services within the Brazilian military: the corps Army Police (Portuguese: Polícia do Exército, PE) for the Army, Navy Police (Portuguese: Polícia da Marinha) for the Navy, and Air Force Police (Portuguese: Polícia da Aeronáutica, PA) for the Air Force.