Thousands Line Up to Join Brazil Riot Police

Paying $350 a month, it may not be the most enticing job opportunity, but police said 6,656 men stood in lines stretching more than a half-mile this week to compete for 150 openings as riot police.

In the high-risk profession, Brazil’s riot police are responsible for quashing often bloody prison uprisings in the state’s understaffed prison network that crams 96,000 inmates into sometimes squalid conditions.

But those who lined up for the job, ages 18 to 30 with high school diplomas in hand, were more worried about a steady job than run-ins with criminals. Brazil has a minimum wage of about $80 a month and 6.5% unemployment.