Brazil: Record high crime rates in Rio de Janeiro

Event

According to data released by the Institute of Public Security (ISP), homicide rates in the first three months of 2017 were 17.5 percent higher compared to the same period last year in Rio, reaching a total of 1474 victims. There were also 220 more deaths in 2017 compared to 2016. The report said that the most affected areas include the municipalities of Baixada Fluminense, namely, Duque de Caxias, Belford Roxo, Nova Iguaçu, Mesquita, and Nilópoli.

Additionally, the study indicates a marked rise in the proportion of intentional homicides, vehicle thefts, and homicides resulting from police interventions in 2017 across Rio de Janeiro.

On a related note, a new study by the Datafolha Institute commissioned by the Brazilian Forum of Public Security (FBSP) and Life Instinct (Instinto de Vida) shows that an estimated 50 million Brazilians over the age of sixteen have experienced the loss of a loved one to homicide or death during a robbery. About 16 million people have been affected by the violent death of a family member or friend killed by a member of the security forces, a police officer, or municipal guard.

Context

The deterioration of security conditions in Rio de Janeiro sheds light to the failure of the state's security polices, notably Rio's ''pacification'' strategy, which involves the deployment of Police Pacification Units (Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora, UPP), to establish a presence in particularly crime-ridden areas of the city.

Civil society organizations and human rights groups have criticized Brazilian authorities for being complacent towards police brutality or ignoring the problem outright. There have been calls for the government to demilitarize the police. Public security is completely militarized in the country. The ISP report said that in March, 120 people died as a result of police operations in the state of Rio, a 96.7 percent increase from March 2016. A previous report by the FBSP found that military police were responsible for 1567 deaths nationwide in 2013, almost eight times higher than the 198 cases linked to civil police.

Social tensions are also on the rise across the country due to the poor economic situation following the decline in commodity prices, a mounting political crisis since the impeachment of Dilma Roussef, state and business corruption scandals, and the implementation of austerity measures (impacting the police and other state bureaucracies).

Advice

Individuals present in Rio de Janeiro are advised to remain vigilant, avoid any related protests, conceal signs of wealth to avoid attracting the attention of would-be thieves, and avoid entering favelas (slums; often located in very close proximity to more affluent neighborhoods). Keep in mind that criminals are often armed; never offer resistance if assaulted.