Criminal expert engineers reinforce forensic activities of the Scientific Police

In commemoration of International Women's Day in Engineering, celebrated on June 23, the Scientific Police of Pará (PCEPA) highlights the importance and contribution of the engineers who are part of its technical staff. Working in strategic areas such as Legal Engineering and Forensics, these professionals play a fundamental role in solving crimes, producing technical evidence, and promoting justice.

At the Scientific Police, engineers contribute with highly specialized technical knowledge in structural analysis, accidents, environmental crimes, fire expertise, and other complex areas of forensic science. There are 21 engineers stationed both in the Technological Expertise Management and in the interior of the State, as well as in leadership positions.

The criminal expert and Manager of Applied Engineering, Márcia Barbosa de Sá, has been working in Civil Engineering for 25 years. “I have always identified with the exact sciences, so engineering was always an option when I thought about what to study in college, as it would open a good range of competitions and jobs in private companies. In my class, there were only 5 women. Some women are not interested in the profession because it requires operational aspects, such as site visits, etc.,” said the expert.

The criminal expertise emerged as a possibility while still in college, when Márcia identified with some study objects in the field. “I identified with the pathological part, the study of problems, defects, and failures that occur in constructions, structures, and materials; that was when I realized I could be a criminal expert, as this is one of the areas where the expert works,” she explained.

The expert participated in emblematic cases, such as the collapse of the Moju Bridge in 2019. “In the beginning, I went through the Homicide Crimes Unit and then came to the Applied Engineering sector, went through Coordination, and I have been in the Applied Engineering Management for 9 years. Currently, I manage the expertise related to properties, collapses, structural problems, fires, as well as the functionality of electronic equipment, energy theft,” she added.

Challenges- For the criminal expert and agronomist engineer Socorro Almeida, the challenges began in college, where there were only 6 women in a universe of more than 30 men. “They treated us as if we were fragile and fearful, that we could not handle working in an area where we would be susceptible to facing adverse conditions, and we always showed that yes, we could, so they began to respect us,” reported the expert.

Currently, she works in the Environmental Crimes Unit of the agency. “In the agency, I develop my activities in my area of training. There is a lot of respect and appreciation for our work. We have faced many challenging situations, in addition to many adversities inherent to the environmental area, but we have always managed to perform our function with a lot of determination, confidence, and courage,” the expert concluded.

Text: Amanda Monteiro/Ascom PCEPA