The Cláudio Castro (PL) administration failed to reach the targets for three of the four crime indicators in Rio de Janeiro. The numbers are established by the state government itself to serve as a guide in reducing violence. However, in the first half of 2023, only one index, that of street robberies, met expectations and recorded a decline. The other three had an increase compared to the same period of last year. They are: violent lethality, theft of vehicles and cargo. The goals are part of the Strategic Security Plan and are formulated by the Public Security Institute (ISP), the Military and Civil Polices. In the first six months of this year, the number of violent fatalities was 2,359 deaths, an increase of 8.5% compared to the first half of 2022. The indicator accounts for the total number of intentional homicides, injuries followed by death, robbery and death by police in the state. The target was 2,153. Regarding vehicle theft, the goal set by the state would be 11,707 stolen vehicles in the first half of 2023 – the same number as last year. The indicator, however, scored 12,131. The situation is the same for cargo theft. The target was 1,910 such cases, as registered in 2023, but the actual number was 2,111.
This Content Is Only For Subscribers
To unlock this content, subscribe to INTERLIRA Reports.
Analysis:
If the state government’s own indicators do not point to a reduction in violence, it is clear that the measures adopted by it are not being effective. Experts also question the parameters adopted by the state to carry out this monitoring. The ISP does not make clear the calculation to stipulate the goal. The institute only informs the percentage it predicts between semesters from one year to another. Within the target system, the government of Rio also establishes bonuses for security agents who somehow manage to reduce violence in the state. Earlier this week, Castro announced that he would give a prize of R$5,000 for each rifle seized. Experts criticize the measure. According to them, this bonus may result in an even greater increase in lethality.
25/08/2023 – A team from the Secretariat of Public Order (Seop) was caught in the middle of a shooting between military police and drug dealers in Complexo da Maré, North Zone. The team was trying to leave with the tow haul when it was targeted by the criminals. According to Seop, the team acted in support of the battalion, to carry out the removal of illegally parked vehicles, when they were surprised by the action of criminals.
25/08/2023 – Rio councilor Marcelo Diniz (Solidariedade) reported on social media that he had suffered an attack in Muzema, West Zone. According to him, the house where he lives with his family was shot tens of times by an individual armed with an automatic rifle. A city official who was at the family’s establishment was injured in the leg. At the time of the shooting, the parents and children of the councilor were in the place. But they managed to take cover from the shots behind a pillar.
26/08/2023 – 34 people were arrested and around 500 people were taken to police stations in the South Zone during DJ Alok’s performance on Copacabana Beach. The suspects were detained for theft and other petty crimes during approaches made by Military Police (PM) teams. At the PM’s blockade points at the entrances to the event, brass knuckles, penknives, scissors, nail clippers, screwdrivers, knife, stiletto, and machete, among others, were seized.
26/08/2023 – Civil Police is investigating the death of three men found in a car on Rua Jaime Marques, in Campinho, West Zone. One of the lines of investigation is that the victims were involved with the region’s militia, and that they would have been ambushed by local drug dealers. They were returning from a party.
26/08/2023 – Vans transporting passengers were attacked by gunfire in Camorim, West Zone. The targeted vehicles were parked in the place known as Igrejinha. According to the Military Police, no one was injured. The Taquara police station opened an inquiry to investigate the authorship and motivation of the attack. The region is experiencing instability due to disputes over territory between militia and drug traffickers. The conflicts have taken place in communities that were previously considered militia, and the police have not ruled out the participation of these groups in the attack.
28/08/2023 – A man was shot in the community of Terreirão, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, West Zone. The 20-year-old was on Rua 8W when he was shot at around 21:00. According to the Military Police, officers were policing the area when they saw a group with suspicious attitudes. The corporation claims that, upon being approached, the men shot at the police, who retaliated. Two criminals were arrested. Cocaine, radio transmitters, chargers, ammunition, and money were seized from them.
28/08/2023 – Rival criminal groups had a shooting in Morro do Jordão, in Jacarepaguá, West Zone. Militiamen and drug traffickers have been in constant clashes in the region. Military Police patrolling has been intensified in these regions and there is no information on arrests.
29/08/2023 – A SuperVia train suffered a mass robbery in one of the train cars at Riachuelo station, North Zone. The Military Police said that officers were called to report a robbery on the train. Teams searched to try to locate criminals, but no one was found.
30/08/2023 – Police officers from the Coordination of Special Resources (Core) arrested three people in Campo Grande, West Zone. In the same action, the police seized a total of 11 pistols. The detained trio would be part of a paramilitary group that operates in the region. Among those arrested is a criminal involved in the death of a military police officer and leader of the militia in the locations known as Santa Margarida and Caminho do Céu. Four cell phones, three vehicles, a knife, and two walkie-talkies were also found and seized.
30/08/2023 – A 12-year-old boy was shot at Rua Baronesa, in Praça Seca, West Zone. The victim was shot in the leg. According to the corporation, police officers from the Jacarepaguá Battalion were called to check the entry of a victim of a gunshot. The Military Police claims that there was no police operation at the scene at the time the victim was shot.
30/08/2023 – The Federal Police arrested Peterson Luiz de Almeida, 33 years old. Known as Pet, he is one of the leaders of the militia that operates in the neighborhoods of Sepetiba and Nova Sepetiba, West Zone. He traded weapons for militiaman Zinho. He is accused of the crimes of private militia and illegal trade in firearms.
31/08/2023 – Two women died, and a 7-year-old boy was injured during a shooting at Praça do Alvorada in Santa Cruz, West Zone. According to information from the Military Police, the victims were hit during a clash between militiamen.
31/08/2023 – The Federal Police (PF) seized about 370 kg of pure cocaine in the shed of a company in Ramos, North Zone. One person was arrested. The drug came from Guarulhos (SP) to Rio hidden in orders for construction material and would be distributed in communities in Rio. According to the PF, the company and the carrier were not aware of the illicit content.
