A police chase captured on video ended on Wednesday (21/01) with the arrest of two robbery suspects in Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone — a scene that has become increasingly common in the neighborhood’s daily routine. The action, carried out by officers from the Military Police’s Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), illustrates the context that led the Military Police to launch, on Thursday (22/01), Operation Impact in the Greater Tijuca area. The initiative aims to curb crime rates, particularly street and vehicle robberies. According to data from the Crime Map, Tijuca is among the ten neighborhoods in the city with the highest number of records for four types of robbery: pedestrian robberies, cell phone robberies, vehicle robberies, and robberies on public transportation. In cases involving cell phones and pedestrians, the neighborhood ranks second citywide.
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Operation Impact
According to the Military Police, 190 officers, 58 patrol cars, and 26 motorcycles were mobilized to operate on an open-ended basis in the neighborhoods of Tijuca, Grajaú, Maracanã, Vila Isabel, Praça da Bandeira, and Andaraí, all under the jurisdiction of the 6th BPM (Tijuca). Colonel Marcelo de Menezes Nogueira stated that the operation has already been implemented in other regions of the state, where it produced significant results, with average reductions of around 40% in certain crime indicators.
Increase in street robberies
The two main crime indicators monitored by the operation are vehicle thefts and street robberies. Data from the Public Security Institute (ISP) show that, in the cumulative figures for 2025 compared to the previous year, there was a decrease in vehicle thefts but an increase in reports of street robberies within the area covered by the 6th BPM. According to the unit’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rogério Brum de Souza, figures from recent months underscore the need for sustained vigilance. Between January and June 2025 alone, Tijuca recorded a 27% increase in cell phone thefts compared to the same period of the previous year, according to the Crime Map. The Maracanã area shows a similar trend, ranking fourth in the city for cell phone thefts, also with a 27% increase.
BOPE pursues and arrests criminals
One day before the launch of the operation, Thiago Antonio Nogueira Rocha and Matheus Vinicius da Silva were arrested following a vehicle robbery in Tijuca by BOPE officers. The action, recorded on video from the top of a building, shows a chase through the neighborhood’s streets, shots fired during the suspects’ escape, and their eventual surrender. The footage, captured from a building along Avenida Maracanã, shows two suspects abandoning a car and a motorcycle in quick succession before attempting to flee on foot, as a BOPE patrol vehicle advances down the street in pursuit. Gunshots can be heard during the chase. According to BOPE command, officers were patrolling the avenue when they noticed the two men approach a driver and carry out the robbery.
Analysis:
Operation Impact reflects a tactical response to a localized but persistent rise in street-level crime in Greater Tijuca, where robbery patterns have become both frequent and highly visible. The data cited by the Military Police and the Public Security Institute indicates a clear divergence between trends: while vehicle thefts show signs of containment, street robberies and cell phone thefts continue to grow, particularly in areas with intense pedestrian circulation and transit flows. This imbalance helps explain the emphasis on saturation policing and rapid-response patrols, as these crimes rely on speed, familiarity with the neighborhood, and low reaction time from law enforcement.
From an operational standpoint, the scale and open-ended nature of the deployment signal is an attempt to reassert territorial control and disrupt routine criminal behavior rather than merely reacting to isolated incidents.
Sources: O Globo.
