Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais
Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE) (Portuguese: [bataˈʎɐ̃w dʒi opeɾaˈsõjs poliˈsjajz ispeˈsjajs]; literally "Special Police Operations Battalion") or BOPE is the police tactical unit and gendarmerie of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State (PMERJ) in Brazil. Due to the nature of crime in favelas, BOPE units utilize equipment deemed more powerful than traditional civilian law enforcement, and have extensive experience in urban warfare as well as progression in confined and restricted environments.
| Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais | |
|---|---|
Patch & Beret Badge | |
Coat of arms | |
| Common name | BOPE |
| Motto | Faca na Caveira Knife in the Skull / Victory Over Death |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | January 19, 1978 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Location of the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil | |
| Legal jurisdiction | Rio de Janeiro |
| Governing body | Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State |
| Operational structure | |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State |
BOPE of PMERJ is one of the best known units of its kind among Brazil's military police organizations. Military Police of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states also call their tactical units BOPE, while the military police of the Federal District and Piauí states call their forces "Special Operations Battalion(s)" ("Batalhão de Operações Especiais" or "BOE").