The New Year’s Eve celebrations held on Wednesday (31/12) and Thursday (01/01) along Paulista Avenue, in central São Paulo, recorded a total of 140 cases of cell phone theft and five robberies, according to figures released on Monday (05/01) by the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP). Despite the high number of incidents, the administration of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos) reported a 27.5% reduction in overall crime during the event. However, the comparison was affected by a revision of the data from the previous year’s celebrations.
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191 Thefts
Initially, on January 2, 2025, the Public Security Secretariat had informed that only 33 cases of cell phone theft had been recorded during the previous New Year’s Eve celebration on Paulista Avenue. In the updated report released on Monday (05/01), the SSP acknowledged that the actual number was 191 thefts, in addition to nine robberies — a discrepancy of 579%. According to the state government, the difference is explained by the filing of a large number of police reports after the initial disclosure, as many victims registered their complaints days later.
In the Early Morning
The SSP reported that most robberies occurred in the early hours of January 1st, a period marked by reduced crowd density and greater movement of people leaving the event. Thefts, on the other hand, were largely concentrated on the night of December 31st, when the avenue was most crowded, creating favorable conditions for pickpocketing and discreet criminal activity.
Military Police
The policing operation for the New Year’s Eve event mobilized nearly 2,000 Military Police officers and approximately 130 vehicles. Specialized units such as the Riot Police, Traffic Police, Aviation Police, Fire Department, and the Operations Center were involved in crowd control and surveillance. The operation was reinforced by agents from the Metropolitan Civil Guard (GCM), who were strategically positioned along Paulista Avenue and surrounding streets.
2.1 Million People
According to estimates by São Paulo City Hall, the New Year’s Eve celebration on Paulista Avenue attracted around 2.1 million people. The event featured 14 hours of live musical performances and approximately 15 minutes of fireworks. Among the main attractions were popular artists such as João Gomes, Belo, Ana Castela, Simone Mendes, and the duo Maiara and Maraisa, drawing large crowds throughout the night.
Analysis:
The New Year’s Eve incidents on Paulista Avenue illustrate the predictable security challenges associated with large-scale public events in dense urban environments. With an estimated crowd of more than two million people, the avenue offered ideal conditions for thefts based on anonymity, physical proximity, and limited situational awareness. The concentration of non-violent cell phone thefts during peak crowd density on December 31 underscores how offenders adapt their tactics to moments when detection is difficult and victims are distracted, while the smaller number of robberies occurring in the early morning reflects the shift toward more confrontational crimes as crowds disperse and natural guardianship declines.
Sources: A Folha de SP.
