THE PREVENTIVE ROLE OF THE MILITARY POLICE IN COMBATING TRAFFICKING AND CHILD EXPLOITATION: A PROPOSAL FOR DOCTRINAL UPDATE

Abstract

This article aims to present and substantiate the need to create and institutionalize a specific doctrine within the Paraná Military Police (PMPR) focused on preventing and combating child trafficking, child abduction, and various forms of child exploitation. The research, which is applied in nature and qualitative in approach, employs the deductive method through an extensive review of literature and documents. The proposal is structured around three central axes of intervention: (i) updating overt patrol routines by incorporating an adapted cognitive interview technique and a standardized decision matrix for checking children in private vehicles, buses, and transport terminals; (ii) technological innovation, embodied in a proposal for an inter-agency mobile application featuring georeferenced alerts for patrol units; and (iii) inter-institutional governance, establishing an agile workflow for activating the Rights Guarantee System (SGD). It is argued that adopting this doctrine does not require creating new specialized units or increasing police personnel, but rather reorienting the operational mindset and enhancing the technical capabilities of existing teams. Grounded in the principles of Integral Protection and Absolute Priority set forth in the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA), as well as in Situational Crime Prevention theory, the proposal seeks to transform every police stop into a concrete, proactive opportunity to prevent, identify early, and halt crimes that directly affect the dignity, freedom, and lives of children and adolescents.