Rio de Janeiro state is rapidly expanding its digital surveillance network, increasing the number of street cameras and adding AI tools such as license plate reading and facial recognition. Integrated with the Integrated Command and Control Center (CICC), the system already totals more than 32,000 devices across 23 municipalities—combining government equipment with private cameras connected to public authorities—and officials project a dramatic surge by 2028, driven by new state and city programs that promise hundreds of thousands of “smart” cameras, cite arrests and recoveries as results, and mirror a broader trend of Brazilian municipalities adopting similar public-safety monitoring models.
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Results
The Military Police are still consolidating the results attributed to the system. According to Major Agdan Miranda Fernandes, the corporation’s Director of Infrastructure and Technology, since September 2024 the tools have enabled the recovery of 1,015 vehicles through license plate reading and the location of 80 missing persons. The official also states that, up to December 31, 2023, the technology facilitated the arrest of 753 people through facial recognition. He adds that the cameras can operate even in areas where internet access is controlled by criminal factions or militias.
Traditional Monitoring
Most cameras connected to the CICC still rely on traditional video monitoring, without AI embedded in the devices. Part of this equipment, however, is integrated into the Military Police facial recognition system, allowing captured images to be cross-checked against official databases. The state says images are compared with records from the Civil Police, Detran (the Department of Motor Vehicles), and the National Bank of Arrest Warrants. According to authorities, access to the monitoring centers is restricted through personal, non-transferable credentials, and all searches are logged for audit purposes.
Sentinel Program
The bidding process for the Sentinel Program is scheduled for February. The plan is to install 200,529 AI-equipped devices across all municipalities in Rio de Janeiro state. Investments of approximately R$1.4 billion are planned for software and camera infrastructure. The first deployments are expected in Copacabana, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and in the municipality of Belford Roxo.
City of Rio
At the municipal level, Rio de Janeiro City Hall began, at the end of last year, installing a new system of intelligent super-cameras on expressways and at portal checkpoints at the city’s entrances. According to the city, the equipment can identify up to three thousand simultaneous situations in seconds, including behavioral patterns, suspicious movements, and vehicles linked to crimes. The initiative is part of the expansion of the Center for Intelligence, Surveillance and Technology in Support of Public Security (Civitas). Since June 2024, the center has contributed to the resolution of 3,696 cases, including inquiries and investigations by security forces. So far, 2,300 super-cameras have been installed; they are in a testing phase and should begin operating effectively in the first half of this year. The city’s goal is to reach 15,000 super-cameras by 2028.
Participating
Cities Among the 23 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro state participating in the Integrated 190 Program—with cameras monitored at the CICC—are, besides Rio, cities such as Maricá, Petrópolis, São João de Meriti, Búzios, Angra dos Reis, and Saquarema. In Maricá, there are 770 public cameras and 2,000 private devices integrated into monitoring, and expectations are that the total will reach 7,000 in the coming years. São Gonçalo is joining the Integrated 190 Program. Niterói, however, does not have equipment monitored at the CICC; it operates its own Integrated Public Security Center (Cisp), which runs 825 monitoring devices and 38 security portals installed at the city’s entrances and exits.
Private Companies
Among the private companies participating in the Integrated 190 system, the startup Gabriel, founded in 2020, currently operates more than 9,400 active cameras in Rio and Niterói. The model connects cameras installed on the facades of private properties to public authorities, forming what the company calls a “Protection Area.” According to the startup, the network has contributed to 6,700 analyses of criminal incidents, resulting in the arrest of 486 suspects, the location of ten missing persons, the clearance of eight people who were wrongly accused, and the recovery of more than 130 vehicles.”
São Paulo
Mayors of various cities have adapted their own versions of Smart Sampa, a public safety monitoring program from Ricardo Nunes’ (MDB) administration in São Paulo or sought to contract the same technology used in the São Paulo capital, aiming for electoral gains in 2026. This movement occurs amidst increasing public concern about violence: 16% consider it the main issue in the country, according to the most recent Datafolha survey. This strategy has gained followers, especially among mayors on the right, who have made combating violence one of their main platforms.
Sorocaba
In Sorocaba (SP), the suspended mayor Rodrigo Manga (Republicanos) named the program that uses facial recognition cameras in public safety “Smart Sampa Sorocaba”. The name of the São Paulo initiative was also adapted in Mogi das Cruzes, in Greater São Paulo, where Mayor Mara Bertaiolli (PL) launched “Smart Mogi” in September, and in São Caetano do Sul, home of “Smart Sanca”. Ricardo Nunes’ administration launched a strategy in August to “export” the original program, which began to be offered by Prodam — a public technology company in São Paulo. The technology has already been contracted by Topázio Neto’s (PSD) administration in Florianópolis (SC), where the program is in the testing phase in the Praia dos Ingleses region.
Rio de Janeiro’s rapid expansion of its digital surveillance architecture reflects a broader shift in Brazilian public security policy toward technology-driven policing. By integrating more than 32,000 cameras into the Integrated Command and Control Center and planning over 200,000 additional AI-enabled devices under the Sentinel Program, the state is moving toward a dense monitoring grid with real-time data processing capacity. Reported outcomes such as vehicle recoveries, arrests through facial recognition, and the location of missing persons demonstrate operational utility, particularly in a state where vehicle theft, organized crime, and territorial control by armed groups remain persistent challenges. The ability to function even in areas where connectivity is constrained by criminal actors suggests a deliberate effort to counter parallel power structures.
At the same time, the scale and speed of expansion raise governance and oversight questions. Most devices still rely on traditional monitoring, but the increasing use of facial recognition and behavioral analytics introduces higher stakes in terms of data protection, accuracy, and due process.
The diffusion of similar programs across other cities, inspired by initiatives such as Smart Sampa, illustrates how surveillance technology has become politically salient. Mayors are positioning camera networks as visible evidence of action against crime, often linking them to electoral narratives.
Sources: O Globo; Extra; A Folha de SP.
