The police stations located in Pinheiros and Perdizes, wealthy neighborhoods in the west zone of São Paulo, registered a record in theft and theft, respectively, in the first five months of 2023. In addition to the two regions, police districts covering areas such as Itaim Bibi, Vila Olímpia, Moema, Campo Belo and Jardins also saw their records of crimes increase in 2023. A police chief said that there is a lack of police to investigate members of gangs specializing in attacking pedestrians and drivers, which results in more criminals on the streets. For him, there will only be an improvement in the scenario with the increase in the number of employees in the Civil Police, responsible for investigating crimes.
- Data from the SSP (Secretary of Public Security) indicate an explosion in cases of robberies carried out in the 14th DP (Pinheiros). From January to May, 1,426 incidents involving the use of weapons or violence were recorded. It is the largest amount ever seen in the district since 2002, when the historic series began. Compared to last year there was a 4% increase in registrations. In Pinheiros, the number of thefts in the first five months of this year rose 52% in comparison with the same period of 2022.
- Perdizes is another region with high crime rates. The neighborhood was responsible for registering 3,847 cases of theft this year, the highest number in two decades or 11% more than in 2022. On the other hand, the local police station recorded a 7% drop in the number of robberies.
- The 15th DP (Itaim Bibi) had 885 cases of robberies in the first five months, a quantity inferior only to the years 2004 (966 records), 2003 (981) and 2002 (961). With regard to thefts, the civil police officers working in the district recorded 2,438 cases, a number 65% higher than that seen in a similar period from 2022. Like the West Zone, noble areas in the South Zone have also seen statistics increase.
- The 27th DP (Campo Belo), which is responsible for Moema neighborhood, had a 7% increase in robberies in the comparison between 2023 and 2022. In the case of thefts, the increase was 10% from one period to the next.
- The 96th DP, which also protects the neighborhood of Brooklin, the number of robberies went from 732 cases to 900 (23%) incidents in one year.
The number of deaths by the Military Police on duty increased by 24.2% from January to July this year compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the Public Ministry disclosed on Tuesday (01). In the first seven months of the year, the first under the command of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), 185 people were killed by military police officers at work, against 149 in the same months of 2022. year so far: 33.
In 2022, a total of 999,223 crimes targeting cell phones were reported in Brazil. The number is the result of 508,335 robberies, and 490,888 thefts. The state that led the ranking, in absolute numbers, was São Paulo, where a total of more than 300,000 cell phones were stolen by robbers or thieves, which represents 30% of the country’s total. In second place, Bahia had 83,433 occurrences of both types, around 8%. Compared with the number of people who live in each location, the regions with the highest rate of robbery and theft of cell phones per 100,000 inhabitants are Amazonas, with 1,015.1, and the Federal District with 1,008.3. The places that had the biggest increase compared to 2021 were Bahia, with a variation of 70.5%, and Rio de Janeiro, which increased by 58.6%. Former national secretary of public security José Vicente believes that these numbers should grow even more.
Our Analysis:
Numbers are expected to continue to grow strongly. Many factors drive this trend. Cel phones have a high value on the market, they are easy to be taken from people, especially due to people’s careless behavior on the streets. Even when they are not unlocked by the criminals, the devices are valuable, because it is possible to sell their parts. In addition, the phones are in high demand, thus it is easy to sell parts of the phone. Furthermore, the black market is not badly regarded by the population. Finally, with the financial applications on the phones, they are also targeted for the information they store.
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The number of rapes in the state of São Paulo increased by 15.3% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year – from 6,150 to 7,089 occurrences. In relation to intentional homicides, the state registered a decrease of 4.9%. In 2022, from January to June, there were 1,395 intentional homicides, against 1,327 this year. It is the smallest number in the first semester in 23 years, when the historical series began.
See other facts:
- Comparing only the second quarter of this year and last year, there was an increase in the records of intentional homicides in the capital: between April and June 2023, there were 129 intentional homicides; in the same period in 2022 there were 112 cases (+15.2%)
- Robberies in the state dropped 8.2% in the semester comparison: from 85 to 78, the lowest number since 2001;
- Vehicle thefts increased by 4.6% (from 45,136 to 47,196)
- And thefts in general rose 2.9% in the state (from 278,634 to 286,673)
The number of vehicle robberies and thefts increased again in 2023 in São Paulo Metropolitan Region. The number reached 6,869 cars taken in May, a growth of 23% compared to 2022. Considering the first five months of the year, 27,010 cars were targeted by criminals, a 5% increase over the same period last year. The data are from a survey carried out by the insurance company Ituran Brasil, with information from the Secretary of Public Security (SSP).
01/07/2023 – A man was kidnapped by a gang in Butantã, West Zone. He was a victim of the Tinder scam, where the victim is kidnapped after making a date through a dating app. In captivity, he even made a Pix of R$ 12,000 for the criminals. Police managed to release the victim and arrest three criminals after they crashed their car.
02/07/2023 – A criminal shot at a resident of a building in Vila Olímpia, West Zone, while she was filming a robbery in the street. In the images, you can see the victim standing on the sidewalk and the criminal sitting on a black and gold motorcycle, with the stolen cell phone in his hands. The resident, who was recording, screams “asshole”. The criminal saw that she was recording, pointed the gun and fired. The criminal fled.
05/07/2023 – TV host and former soccer player José Ferreira Neto, also known as Craque Neto, was a victim of the stoned gang, in Morumbi, West Zone. The TV presenter was in a car stopped at a traffic light when a criminal broke the passenger window and took his cell phone. The criminals ran away.
07/07/2023 – A Civil Police team located, in the Limão neighborhood, North Zone, a cloned Civil Police car used by false police officers to commit crimes. The vehicle had been spotted on Monday (3) by cameras in front of a luxury building in the Jardins region, West Zone, during an attempt to invade the condominium. The car was abandoned inside a parking lot in Francisco Dauria square.
07/07/2023 – Corinthians striker Gustavo Mosquito was robbed as he left the Joaquim Grava training center in Vila Santo Henrique, East Zone. He was attacked by two men with a gun. Criminals took cell phone, sneakers, wedding ring, and a purse with personal items.
08/07/2023 – A 23-year-old girl died after being injured in a fight between Palmeiras and Flamengo fans before the match between the two teams at Allianz Parque, in Água Santa, West Zone. She was hit in the neck by a glass bottle. The confusion between the fans happened before the start of the game and, after intervention by the Military Police, fans threw glass bottles at the police.
09/07/2023 – Criminals stole the wheels of a car that was parked on a street in the Mooca neighborhood, East Zone. The car owner parked the vehicle and left, but when he returned his vehicle was without two wheels. The estimated loss is R$ 4,000.
11/07/2023 – Drug users carried out a series of attacks on vehicles traveling near the region known as Cracolândia, downtown São Paulo. Among the targets were at least six buses and two trucks. There was looting, in addition to the depredation of a police vehicle. Two criminals were arrested. Metropolitan Civil Guard and Military Police officers surrounded dozens of drug addicts between Avenida Rio Branco and Rua Santa Ifigênia. The confusion started when drug users vandalized a Military Police vehicle. Then the bus was stoned and a liquor truck looted. There was a confrontation between drug addicts and police.
13/07/2023 – An employee who provided services to the CET was killed after an argument with a military police (PM) officer. The crime took place on Avenida General Pedro Leon Schneider, in Santana, North Zone. According to witnesses, the victim was pasting signage strips. Due to strong winds, a band would have come loose and hit the motorcycle on which the PM and a friend were. There was an argument between the victim and the police officer, who pulled the gun and shot.
14/07/2023 – A businessman was kidnapped while leaving his company on Rua Oscar Freire, Jardim Paulista, West Zone. Criminals sent photos of the injured man to his son and demanded R$ 2 million for ransom. After hours of phone conversation and several transfers via Pix, the businessman was released. No one was arrested, but the police reported that they had already managed to identify the three bank accounts where the criminals sent the money.
15/07/2023 – Two criminals fled after a shooting with the Military Police (PM) during a chase on Avenida Presidente Wilson, in Mooca, East Zone, at 13:00. According to information from the Military Police Operations Center (Copom), teams from the corporation were on patrol to investigate a complaint that criminals, on two motorcycles, were doing a mass robbery through the region. When they came across a motorcycle, one of the occupants fired at the PM vehicle, which retaliated.
18/07/2023 – Employees of the residential complex security team in the Parque dos Príncipes neighborhood, West Zone, were attacked by criminals who were trying to kidnap a family. According to the Military Police, five men invaded the residence and tried to kidnap the residents. The group would have entered the house by simulating a delivery. When they left the place, a criminal died during a shooting with the police and four others managed to escape.
19/07/2023 – A woman was chased, assaulted, and robbed by a bandit in front of her daughter, in Itaim Paulista, East Zone. The criminal arrived assaulting and threatening the victim. When he tries to pull off the gold chain, the woman reacts. Both fight until the criminal manages to take the cord and the victim’s cell phone and flee.
19/07/2023 – A 67-year-old man was shot grazed in the head during an attempted robbery in the Pinheiros neighborhood, West Zone. He was approached by a criminal on a motorcycle, who chased and shot him inside a bar on Avenida Pedroso de Moraes. The victim reported that he had received a sum of money and was returning home.
21/07/2023 – On Friday (21/07), YouTuber Christian Figueiredo was robbed when leaving his car with his bodyguard, in São Paulo. The criminal was armed and arrived without being noticed, surrendered the bodyguard stole the youtuber’s belongings and escaped. The location of the incident was not revealed.
23/07/2023 – On Sunday morning (23/07), a 63-year-old man was injured after being stabbed during an argument inside the Alto do Ipiranga subway station, in the South Zone of São Paulo. This is the fifth case of violence recorded on the tracks in 2023 alone, according to a survey by TV Globo.
26/07/2023 – On Wednesday night (26/07), a 25-year-old fake taxi driver was arrested in Pinheiros, West Zone of São Paulo, after scamming passengers. According to the Military Police, false license plates were found with him, more than 60 credit and debit cards, in addition to two card machines. Still according to police, the man was found in a car who confessed to impersonating a taxi driver. When making the charge, he changed the value in the card machine. Thus, instead of the total of the race, the scammer put a value up to three times greater.
27/07/2023 – On Thursday (27/07), the Civil Police seized 49 luxury vehicles that were in two agencies in the east zone of the city of São Paulo. According to agents, the cars were used by organized crime to launder money. Among the seized vehicles is a McLaren 570s super sports car — brand new, the vehicle costs around R$ 2.4 million. Police also said they had seized an amount of cash, the specific vlue was not disclosed. Authorities suspect that the criminal faction First Capital Command (PCC) used strawmen to acquire cars, since some of them are in the names of people with low purchasing power. Among the luxury cars there was a Ferrari California. According to the Fipe Table (Foundation Institute of Economic Research), a 2017 model costs R$ 2.4 million. It also had Audis, BMWs, Porsches, and Land Rovers. The seized cars have values that range from R$ 300,000 to almost R$ 2.5 million each.
29/07/2023 – On Saturday (29/07), female bus passengers assaulted one man that according to them was sexually harassing women inside the vehicle, in Cidade Dutra neighborhood. He was then dragged to a Military Police battalion, in the South Zone of São Paulo.
TRENDS & ADVICE
- Stay away from any protest most likely to occur in the city center, including Avenida Paulista, the MASP, Praça do Ciclista, Praça da Sé, Largo da Batata and Praça da Republica.
- Monitor the local media in order to circumvent protest locations, including social media.
- If caught in a demonstration: remain still and take the time to see which way the crowd is going; attempt to leave the area by going against the movement of the crowd; avoid using your mobile phone, taking pictures or filming the demonstration; go to the nearest building as soon as possible and wait until the situation clears; try to avoid contact with security forces if possible.
- Considering the high crime rate in São Paulo, business travelers and expatriates should comply with safety rules in order to reduce the risk linked to violent crime. In case of an assault, it is strictly recommended not to resist the attackers and avoid making any sharp movement that may irritate the assailants, who do not hesitate to open fire.
- Avoid, if possible, circulating through the neighborhoods in the East Zone due to the high rates of various crimes.
- Pay attention when trying to meet new people on the internet as criminals use the dating app and social networks to apply scams.
- Due to several police operations, drug users previously concentrated in a region called “Cracolândia” have spread across downtown, leading to an increase in petty crimes. Hence, avoid walking around with your cell phone in your hand, in addition to wearing jewels and expensive watches.
- The number of express kidnappings has increased lately due to a new method (PIX) that allows people to easily transfer money using bank apps. Cooperate in order to mitigate the risk of violence.
- Attention to the windows when inside a vehicle. Keep them closed, as criminals use heavy traffic to rob passengers that expose valuables.
- Keep in mind useful numbers: Emergency police number (190), and São Paulo tourist Police (+55 11 3120 4447).
