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LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 16 October 2018

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Police both perpetrators and victims of violence in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro

Development: On 15 October, the Observatório da Intervenção, a monitoring body set up by the centre for security and citizenship studies (Cesec) at Rio de Janeiro’s Universidade Candido Mendes (Ucam), released its latest data on violence and homicide rates in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, with a focus on police deaths.

Significance: Mid-October marks eight months since a presidential decree put public security in Rio de Janeiro state under the control of the federal armed forces, in response to increasingly uncontrollable violence. The Observatório da Intervenção has released data monthly since then, showing overall little change in the number of violent deaths, and an increase in deaths at the hands of the police. Its latest report highlights that police and military officers are victims of the violence as well.

  • The Observatório da Intervenção records 74 deaths of police or military officers from mid-February to mid-October in Rio de Janeiro state. Of these, 27% were killed in the line of duty, 40.5% died following a robbery or attempted robbery (including because they were recognised as members of the security forces even while off-duty), 16% were killed in fights and revenge executions because of their links to criminal groups, and 16.2% died in unidentified circumstances.
  • According to Rio de Janeiro’s public security institute (ISP), there have been 2,989 homicides between February and August this year, a slight decrease on the homicide rate for the same period last year. However, the number of deaths committed by the police increased by 48.9% over the same period, totalling 916.
  • After a spike in violent deaths in August, especially in killings perpetrated by police, lethal violence slightly subsided in September. According to the ISP, the 504 violent deaths recorded in September overall represent a 9% decrease compared with August, while the number deaths committed by the police fell by 38% (although it remains higher than in 2017).
  • The Observatório da Intervenção has continuously criticised the military intervention’s war-like approach to public security, which disrupts and endangers local populations while failing to curb lethal violence. The Observatório’s latest focus on the victimisation of the security forces serves to highlight that even those in charge of fighting crime and violence can fall victim to it. Many police and military officers have said they are disenchanted with military intervention, as they feel unappreciated by civil society and used by politicians.

Looking Ahead: The military intervention is due to end on 31 December. Public security will be high on the agenda for Rio de Janeiro state’s next governor, who will be elected in a second-round vote on 28 October.

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