On average, every four hours, a person injured by a firearm is treated at a public hospital emergency in the city of Rio de Janeiro and the Metropolitan Region, according to an exclusive survey carried out by GloboNews. In the first half of this year alone, 1,141 patients were rescued with gunshot wounds in 16 health units in the city, state and Federal Government, an average of 6 per day. The record holder for shot people that were treated between January and June is Albert Schweitzer Hospital, in the West Zone of Rio, territory currently disputed by militiamen. The unit average is one record per day. In 2022, the Getúlio Vargas State Hospital, located in Penha, in the North Zone of Rio, was the unit that most received patients that were shot. There were 470 people, which is an average of one patient per day. This year, for every 3 people who were shot and rescued by doctors at Getúlio Vargas, one succumbed to his injuries and died. In all, 177 victims were assisted in the unit in this year’s first half, of which 58 died. From 2021 until the end of the first half of 2023, 6,887 people shot were treated in the capital and the Metropolitan Region. Doctors report that in the 1990s, there was a change in the profile of patients, since, at that time, the wound caused by a rifle shot was a novelty.
Vehicle robbery has grown in most neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro since last year, especially in the North and West Zones. Investigations reveal that gangs are using this type of crime to profit and exchange for weapons and drugs. Traffickers and militia members participate in criminal groups. The regions with the highest increases in car robbery are: In the region of Vila Valqueire, Praça Seca and Tanque there were 84 robberies from January to May 2022 and 183 this year – an increase of 118% and an average of 37 cars stolen per month. In the region of Irajá and Vicente de Carvalho, car robbery increased by 82%. In Cidade de Deus and Jacarepaguá – 76%. At Engenho Novo and Jacaré – 55%. In Madureira and Cascadura – 77%. In Del Castilho and Inhauma – 38%.
Our Analysis:
Criminals carry out robberies as if the practice was a business. There is a kind of a task division: there are those criminals who go to the streets and steal and there is a part of the gang that specializes in cloning and thus uses the logistics that drug trafficking allows them. This structure creates difficulties for the police to repress criminals, since by associating themselves to large gangs that control territories, law enforcement need large operations to go after them. So, protected inside these territories, robbers have a place to clone the vehicle and prepare it to be sold. Cars stolen and cloned in Rio go to Bahia, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Ceará and even Paraguay. Identifying all the gang leaders is difficult because the crime involves drug dealers and militiamen. Therefore, the forecast is the continuation of this trend.
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The number of criminals fleeing from other states and seeking refuge in communities in Rio de Janeiro has been growing. Last year alone, the Military Police arrested 379 criminals in large favelas. And investigators suspect that dozens of fugitives are still hiding in the Metropolitan Region. TV Globo had access to public security data that indicate that at least 67, from 10 states, are hidden in RJ. According to the Civil Police, in the last 5 years, 78 heads of factions from other states were arrested or killed in actions in Rio. They are criminals from 18 states across the country. The main communities that serve as a hiding spot in Rio are: Complexo do Salgueiro (São Gonçalo), Complexo da Penha (North Zone), Complexo do Alemão (North Zone), Complexo da Maré (North Zone) and Rocinha (South Zone).
Our Analysis:
This migration is related to the nationalization of criminal factions. Rio de Janeiro is often chosen because of the distance. Those who are free want to be away from those who can arrest them. Another important factor is the faction that operates in the favela where the criminal originates and, in the place where he will hide. There is cooperation between criminals to protect themselves. Professor Lenin Pires, from the Department of Public Security at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), says the solutions involve reaching the factions economically, targeting drug trafficking routes.
01/07/2023 – An 89-year-old man was deceived and robbed by scammers in Jacarepaguá, West Zone. The pensioner was leaving after using the ATM when two criminals called him saying that there was a problem with his card. Criminals switched the elderly card for someone else’s and stole all the money he had in his account.
02/07/2023 – Three men, including a military police officer, were arrested for kidnapping during a joint action by the Civil and Military Police. They had a victim inside a car that was approached in Parada de Lucas, North Zone. When the vehicle was approached by the officers, the victim screamed for help. In testimony, the victim said that the men went to collect a debt and that he had been threatened with death.
04/07/2023 – An operation by the Civil and Military Police in Complexo da Maré, North Zone, ended with seven criminals arrested, one dead and 25 cars seized, including a Porsche Macan. A seven-month pregnant woman was injured during the shooting. The action was aimed at arresting criminals involved in vehicle robberies. Marijuana, two rifles and three pistols were also seized.
04/07/2023 – A teenager was hit by a pellet gun in Barra da Tijuca, West Zone. The 16-year-old boy was on the soccer field at the Palm Springs condominium with friends when the bullet hit him.
05/07/2023 – Six employees of Supervia – company that manages trains in Rio – were robbed by an armed man at the Marechal Hermes station, North Zone. They were forced to hand over cell phones and personal belongings.
07/07/2023 – A joint operation by the Copacabana police station and the Ipanema police station arrested criminals who were part of a gang specialized in cell phone robbery in Rio’s South Zone. The Iphones would be taken to São Paulo and sold there. The action was carried out after complaints to the Disque Denúncia. Police officers noticed the increase in cases of robberies on the waterfront, carried out by criminals who committed the crimes using bicycles. Three members of the gang were arrested at a hotel in Copacabana. The trio was staying in the neighborhood just to steal the devices. In total, nine cell phones were recovered.
07/07/2023 – Civil Police arrested 57 people in an office that applied false loan scams in downtown Rio. Located on Rua da Quitanda, the office had several rooms and different teams. Criminals worked by making false loans and credit assignments, applying the scam mainly to retirees and pensioners. In addition to the computers, a money counting machine was also seized.
08/07/2023 – The dispute over territory between rival militia groups operating in the Baixada Fluminense left four dead, including a 12-year-old child, and one person injured in Nova Iguaçu. The first victim was a 58-year-old man, he was found dead in a bar. The second victim, a 12-year-old boy, died after being shot while playing in Campo Santa Lúcia. The other victims were hit in a late afternoon shooting attack. On social networks, there are reports that the shots would have come from a car that passed in front of the bar and that one of the victims was a member of a militia.
14/07/2023 – A man was shot and killed inside the São Clemente samba school court, in Cidade Nova, downtown Rio. The 35-year-old victim was shot in the chest and did not resist. According to witnesses, he was on the court during the organization of a samba school event when a man appeared, went towards the victim, and shot. The criminal fled the scene.
16/07/2023 – Members of Flamengo and Fluminense organized supporters fought in Penha, North Zone, before the game between the two teams in the Maracanã Stadium. Videos circulating on social media show men running with sticks and wood in their hands. According to residents, the fight happened mainly on Rua Nossa Senhora Da Penha.
19/07/2023 – Military Police (PM) found in Vila Aliança, West Zone, a clandestine shed for dismantling vehicles with car parts and 20 stolen cars. According to the PM, a man, responsible for the shed, was arrested with a stolen car. Shootings were recorded in the region until early afternoon. The purpose of the operation was to curb cargo and vehicles robbery, remove barricades and comply with arrest warrants.
21/07/2023 – A man was found dead on Avenida Canal do Anil, in Gardênia Azul, West Zone. The region is experiencing a routine of clashes between drug dealers and militiamen due to a dispute over control of the territory. According to the Military Police, officers were triggered to the scene, where they located the man already dead. The victim was found on top of rubble and was wearing pants and a jacket. There is still no information on how he died.
25/07/2023 – On Tuesday afternoon (25/07), a man assaulted two people at an optician in Largo do Machado, in the South Zone of Rio. The aggressor is a customer who came in to buy glasses but was dissatisfied because the store did not have a frame in the model he wanted. The man left before the police arrived. According to witnesses, his mother claimed that he took prescription drugs.
26/07/2023 – On Wednesday (26/07), the Civil Police of RJ and the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) started, in 5 states, Operation Exagogi, against fuel theft through the perforation of Transpetro pipelines. Agents carried out 47 search and seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Paraná, issued by the 1st Specialized Court of the Court of Justice of RJ. One of the suspects is a military police officer from the 32nd BPM (Macaé), appointed as the armed wing of the gang. The MPRJ denounced to the Justice 27 people for aggravated theft, criminal organization and corruption. The operation also aims to identify receiving companies that acquired the diverted product clandestinely.
26/07/2023 – On Wednesday (26/07), a police action against crack users ended with a damaged Military Police vehicle after an attempt to attack the agents on Avenida Rei Pelé, in Maracanã, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Police officers were patrolling the region when they approached a man who was using the drug. The confusion started when the officers tried to take him to the police station. According to the PM, he resisted and about 30 other crack users surrounded the agents. A tear gas grenade was used to contain the group. Drug users managed to escape. A vehicle was hit by stones and glass, but no one was injured.
26/07/2023 – On Wednesday (26/07), a shopkeeper on Rua Araticum, Anil, in the West Zone of Rio, was kidnapped, according to witnesses, because he refused to pay fees imposed by militiamen. The victim was taken at around 08H00 and released two hours later. The Military Police say that the victim was found in the community of Covanca. The vehicle used in the crime has been seized. Merchants in the area claim that, around 16h00, men pass by on motorcycles collecting fees, which are weekly.
27/07/2023 – A mass robbery was perpetrated by criminals in Parque dos Patins, Lagoa nieghborhood, in the South Zone of Rio, on Thursday (27/07) night. According to the Military Police (PM), five minors were apprehended, and two men were arrested for the crime. Agents from the 23rd BPM (Leblon) were patrolling along Avenida Borges de Medeiros, when they observed a group of seven men in suspicious behavior. During the approach, female purses and a cell phone were found with the suspects.
30/07/2023 – A civil police officer and a prison officer had, Sunday (30/07), their homes in Brás de Pina, in the North Zone of Rio, hit by grenade, revolver and rifle shots. At 14h20, a police inspector from the 7th Precinct (Santa Teresa) was near the sidewalk when criminals got out of a dark car and shot at him. Minutes later, men got out of a white car and threw grenades and Molotov cocktails. Then a neighboring police officer from another block had the house targeted. In the same neighborhood, close to Rua Tiboim, another police officer was attacked.
30/07/2023 – 33-year-old Nathallia Cristiny Candido Lacerda was shot in the back by a military police patrol, in Pavuna neighborhood, in the North Zone of Rio, on Sunday night (30/08). The police alleged that the driver of the car in which she was being transported did not obey a police order to stop at a police check point. However, her husband, the driver, alleges that he did not disobey a stop order given by agents and that there was no check point.
30/07/2023 – A military policewoman was shot on Sunday night (30/07) after reacting to a robbery in the neighborhood of Guadalupe, in the North Zone of Rio. According to the Military Police, Priscila Santos Martins was off duty when she was approached by criminals. She was hit in the leg and, according to the corporation, her health framework is stable.
31/07/2023 – A Military Police armored vehicle was called to carry out an emergency rescue operation on Monday afternoon (31/07), to rescue two police officers, who mistakenly entered the Cinco Bocas community, in Brás de Pina, in the North Zone of Rio. They would have followed the instructions of a traffic application, were surrounded by bandits and ended up crashing the car. None of the PMs, who were off duty, were injured.
TRENDS & ADVICE
- During summer months, mass robberies and thefts in touristic spots become the most prevalent security risks in Rio de Janeiro, specially in the city’s South Zone.
- Crowded beaches and its vicinities should be avoided.
- Avoid any display of wealth (jewelry, cell phones), but always carry a small amount of money (R$50) to hand over to muggers.
- In case of robbery: cooperate, do not try to run after the assailant as he or she might not be alone or turn violent.
- In the case of being in the immediate vicinity of a shootout:
- Lay on the ground and seek cover.
- When it is safe to do so, find the nearest building, stay away from windows, do not move unless you are sure that the gunfire has ended.
- Avoid walking alone in poorly lit areas or beaches after nightfall. Avoid walking through tunnels.
- Avoid the vicinity of crime-prone areas such as ‘communities’ (so-called ‘favelas’) and lower-income neighborhoods.
- Be always cautious, even in the areas considered safe such as Downtown, Botafogo, Copacabana and Ipanema. Exercise caution in the Centro during the day and avoid the area after nightfall and on Sundays.
- Be careful when using the GPS as they may lead you to unsafe areas controlled by organized crime. Prefere Cooperative taxis instead of driving yourself.
