Every four hours, on average, a child is raped in the state of Rio. In 2023, 2,209 girls and boys were victims of this crime. In 21% of the cases, the perpetrator was a father, mother, stepfather, or stepmother. Data on child rape (0 to 11 years old) released by the Public Security Institute (ISP) show that eight out of ten victims are girls. Most are black or brown. Of the 2,209 cases, 676, or 31%, occurred in the state capital, followed by Nova Iguaçu, Duque de Caxias, São Gonçalo, and Belford Roxo. In the city of Rio, the five neighborhoods with the most occurrences are in the West Zone: Campo Grande, Santa Cruz, Bangu, Guaratiba, and Jacarepaguá.
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According to the Public Security Institute (ISP), the number of stolen vehicles increased by more than 10% across the state of Rio de Janeiro in the first three months of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. Data also showed that only the Penha Police Station, which serves the neighborhoods of Brás de Pina and Olaria, in addition to a stretch of Av. Brazil recorded an increase of more than 135% in the number of vehicle thefts in 2024. Between January and March 2023, 54 vehicle thefts were recorded. In the same period this year, 127 occurrences. In the 23rd DP (Meier), which also handles incidents in the Cachambi and Todos os Santos neighborhoods, the number of car thefts practically doubled. Between January and March 2023, 56 vehicle thefts were recorded. In the same period this year, 109 occurrences, representing an increase of 94.6%. Three other police stations in Rio’s North Zone (20th DP, 21st DP, and 25th DP) also recorded increases in this statistic. In the area of operation of these police stations, 459 vehicle thefts were recorded in the first three months of 2024. An increase of 52.5% compared to 2023.
Residents of Rio de Janeiro’s South Zone report seeing no changes in policing a week after the Military Police announced the ‘Motorcycle Patrol Action Group’ project. According to the corporation, the purpose of putting motorcycles on the streets would be to provide more mobility and agility in responding to incidents. However, the residents did not see any motorcycle patrols from the Military Police. Lately, the region has seen an increase in cases of violence. According to data from Rio’s Public Security Institute, in the first three months of the year, there was a 25% increase in thefts in the area of the Catete Police Station, which serves the Flamengo region. In a statement, the PM said that the project is gradually evolving, and the corporation is working to expand the mobilization capacity and the personnel to compose the teams.
17/05/2024 – On Friday night (17/05), a military police officer (PM) was shot dead after a traffic fight in the Encantado neighborhood, North RJ, at 19:00h. According to reports, he was identified as Lucas Rocha de Brito, 38, who was assigned to the 2nd BPM (Botafogo), was driving his car when he argued with another driver. Upon seeing the armed police officer get out of the vehicle, the man got out of the vehicle and shot at the PM. The shooter fled.
18/05/2024 – Women threw themselves to the ground when they stood in the middle of a shootout between police officers and criminals in Rio de Janeiro. The scene was recorded by a security camera on Saturday (18/05), in Magalhães Bastos, West RJ. In the footage, a resident lies on the ground amid the gunfire. At the time, agents were carrying out an operation to combat a dispute over territory between factions.
19/05/2024 – A man was arrested on Sunday (19/05) for threatening witnesses in a lawsuit in which he is accused of abusing his 2 and 4-year-old grandchildren. The suspicion is that William Ferreira de Araújo Filho abused the children during the period when his daughter went out to work. One of the witnesses told officers that William has a history of sexual abuse. The crime against the grandchildren allegedly happened in early May 2024. According to police, the children’s mother suspected the crime after her 2-year-old daughter came home and complained of pain in her private parts.
21/05/2024 – A police chase, in the early hours of Wednesday (22/05), left two military police officers and two other people dead on Jardim Botânico Street, close to the Saint Hilaire Viaduct, in Jardim Botânico, South RJ. The Military Police vehicle was trying to reach a red car, with two men from Duque de Caxias, in the Baixada Fluminense. At the exit of the Rebouças Tunnel, the vehicles crashed. The chase began after the red car failed to obey a stop order during a checkpoint on the Linha Vermelha.
21/05/2024 – Burning barricades were used to block the Canary Road on Governor’s Island on Wednesday (21/05) morning. Residents reported intense gunfire in the neighborhood, in the Morro do Barbante region of Rio’s North Zone, around 7:00. In a statement, the Military Police confirmed that teams were acting to repress criminal groups that operate in a territorial dispute in the region. Three people were arrested.
22/05/2024 – Military police from the 23rd BPM (Leblon) arrested, on Wednesday (22/05), a man accused of inflicting several scams on taxi passengers in the South Zone region of Rio de Janeiro. According to the police, the suspect was captured by agents on Avenida Afrânio de Melo Franco, in Leblon. Preliminary information indicates that he was posing as a taxi driver and had been carrying out the scams for about six months. With him, 108 credit cards, 16 various machines, and three taxi license plates, as well as a passenger vehicle that was cloned, were seized.
22/05/2024 – Around 23:45 on Wednesday (22/05), drivers passing through the Rebouças Tunnel, towards the South Zone, witnessed a mass robbery. A woman who did not want to be identified said that a group of men were walking around the area intending to steal the cars. According to the Military Police, there is no record of the crime in the battalions.
