Military policemen in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil: Who are they and to what type of violence are they exposed? ; Policiais militares em Fortaleza/Ceará, Brasil: quem são e a que tipo de violência estão expostos?

Objectives: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics of military policemen and to determine the prevalence of exposure to violence after starting to work among them. Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study, carried out between August 2019 and March 2020 in five battalions of the military police of Ceara, in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil, with a sample of 240 military police officers. A self-administered electronic questionnaire was used for data collection. The analysis was done using the SPSS® software. Results: The sample was composed of men (95%), young (53.8%), and married (67.5%), who work on extra shifts to complement their incomes (51.7%). The majority claim to have suffered violence or to know another police officer who was a victim of violence (85.8%). The most prevalent self-reported violence was by firearms (61.3%), however, psychological (45.4%), moral (40.4%), and physical (16.6%) violence were also reported. Conclusions: Military police officers are predominantly male and young and work in extra shifts. Thus, the risk of exposure to violence is increased in this group. Many participants have stated that they experienced different situations of violence. The study shows that exercising the profession of police officer in Brazil can be dangerous and harmful. ; Objetivos: Descrever as características sociodemográficas e a prevalência de exposição à violência após o início do trabalho na segurança pública autorrelatada por policiais militares do município de Fortaleza, Ceará. Métodos: Estudo transversal e descritivo, ocorrido entre agosto/2019 e março/2020, em cinco batalhões da Polícia Militar do Ceará, no município de Fortaleza, com uma amostra de 240 policiais militares. Para coleta de dados, foi utilizado um questionário eletrônico autoaplicável. A análise foi através do software SPSS®. Resultados: A amostra foi composta de homens (95%) jovens (53,8%) e casados (67,5%), e que fazem escala extra para complementar a renda (51,7%). A maioria afirma ter sofrido ou conhece outro policial ...