Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State

The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State (Portuguese: Polícia Civil do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, PCERJ) is the public security force of the executive branch of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Responsible for the preservation of public order and the safety of people and property under Article 144 of the Federal Constitution of Brazil, it exercises the functions of investigative police (or judicial police) and investigates criminal offenses (except for military offenses) within its jurisdiction. Its jurisdiction covers the entire state of Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil has three police forces for each state: the Military Police (Polícia Militar), responsible for overt street patrolling; the Civil Police (Polícia Civil), responsible for criminal investigations; and the Prison Police (Polícia Penal), responsible for managing and controlling prisons and custody facilities. There are no municipal (city or district) police forces. Municipalities may establish Municipal Guards (Guardas Municipais); these are non-mandatory, often unarmed forces that support municipal administration and public order. As of 2025, Rio de Janeiro is arming its Municipal Guard. State highway police are organized as internal battalions of the Military Police. The Military Police are not directly subordinate to the Armed Forces but are named as such due to their internal military structure. They are considered reserve and auxiliary forces of the Brazilian Army.

Since January 2019, the PCERJ has held the status of a State Secretariat and is directly subordinate to the State Government, granting the organization its own budget and greater powers.