Crime in Brazil - Current Problems

Current Problems

Brazil continues to have high crime rates in a number of statistics, despite recent improvements.

With roughly 23.8 homicides per 100,000 residents, muggings, robberies, kidnappings and gang violence Brazil is one of the most criminalized countries of the world.

Homicides in Brazil are recorded by the DataSUS system. A continuing trend is the reduction of crime rates during the late 2000s, after a peak in the decade's onset. Rio de Janeiro registered, in 2008, the lowest homicide rate in 18 years, while São Paulo is now approaching the 10 homicides per 100,000 mark, down from 35.7 in 1999. A notable example is the city of Diadema, where crime rates fell abruptly.

In 2006 49,145 people were murdered in Brazil, an increase when compared to 2005, when 47,578 people were killed. The year of 2003 still holds the record for total number of murders in Brazil; that year alone 51,043 people were murdered.

Some crime hotspots are the border zones, where criminals from other South American nations also operate, and the suburbs in metropolitan areas. The decline of homicide rates has been the lowest in the Brazilian Northeast, where higher statistics persist.

Carjacking is common, particularly in major cities. Local citizens and visitors alike are often targeted by criminals, especially during public festivals such as the Carnaval. More than 500,000 people have been killed by firearms in Brazil between 1979 and 2003, according to a new report by the United Nations.

Express kidnappings, where individuals are abducted and forced to withdraw funds from automated teller machines to secure their release, are common in major cities including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Salvador and Recife. Petty crimes such as pickpocketing and bag snatching are common. Thieves operate in outdoor markets, in hotels and on public transport.

Cases of piracy occur in some coastal areas of Brazil. Brazil has a long coast line with hundreds of bays and rivers. Most of these are believed to be without pirates. The more dangerous activities seemed to be centred around the Amazon river mouth and the region of Santos or Fortaleza.

Organized crime remains a serious problem in Brazil. It is well established in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and include criminal organizations like Comando Vermelho, Amigos dos Amigos, Terceiro Comando Puro, and Primeiro Comando da Capital, and groups of Punks and Skinheads in São Paulo and Curitiba. Brazilian urbanization has driven the drug trade to the favelas of Rio. Often, gangs hire "lookouts" or "cribs" to warn members of upcoming law enforcement. The dense environments of favelas in Rio have helped gang members hide from police easily.

Gang violence have been directed at police, security officials and related facilities, gangs have also attacked official buildings and set alight public buses. May 2006 São Paulo violence began on the night of 12 May 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the worst outbreak of violence which has been recorded in Brazilian history and was directed against security forces and some civilian targets. By May 14 the attacks had spread to other Brazilian states including Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais and Bahia. Another outbreak of violence took place in São Paulo in July 2006.

In November 2010, there was a huge security crisis in Rio de Janeiro and some of its neighboring cities when a series of attacks against civilian targets occurred. Dozens of motor vehicles were burned by orders of the city's main criminal factions that control drug trafficking at the region in response to the government's newest security policy based on the occupation of Rio's slums by permanent police forces named UPPs

Police brutality and corruption are widespread.

Inefficient public services, especially those related to security, education and health, severely affect quality of life.