HomeNewsBriefWhy Is Crime Rising Across Brazil's Rio de Janeiro State?
BRIEF

Why Is Crime Rising Across Brazil's Rio de Janeiro State?

BRAZIL / 29 SEP 2014 BY ELYSSA PACHICO EN

So far in 2014, violence and crime have increased across Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil, a dynamic some authorities and media attribute to criminal groups being pushed out of the state capital -- a claim worth questioning. 

As O Globo reports, data from Rio de Janeiro's Institute of Public Safety (ISP) shows that homicides, car theft, and robbery have increased across Rio state during the first eight months of 2014, compared to the same period last year.

Homicides increased by 11 percent, with a total of 3,463 murders registered between January and August 2014, while car theft and robbery went up around 31 percent and 41 percent, respectively.

The most significant increase in violence was in the Baixada Fluminense, a region that forms part of Rio de Janeiro's northern metropolitan area. Murders shot up almost 21 percent there compared to the first eight months of 2013, reaching a total of 1,393 homicides.

Violence also went up in the region outside of Rio de Janeiro's metropolitan area, known as Rio's interior. The first eight months of 2014 saw 892 murders registered here, an approximate 19 percent increase from the same period in 2013. 

In the state capital, meanwhile, 841 homicides were registered between January and August, a decrease of two percent from 2013. 

InSight Crime Analysis

One narrative that has been invoked in Brazil is that crime rates are rising in the areas outside of Rio de Janeiro city, thanks to a successful "pacification" program that has pushed criminal groups out of the city and into the surrounding areas. State gubernatorial candidate Lindberg Farias made such claims in a recent interview, asserting: "There was a migration [of violence] to Baixada, to the North zone, to the West zone." 

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Criminal Migration

But as InSight Crime has previously reported, Brazil's crime data doesn't necessarily support this hypothesis. For one, crime has been endemic in the regions outside of Rio for much longer than the pacification program has been in place. Furthermore, in Baixada, only a small percentage of the suspects arrested on drug trafficking charges in 2013 hailed from Rio de Janeiro city, casting doubt on assertions that gangs native to Rio are infiltrating the area. 

An alternative theory is that crime is becoming more of an acute problem in regions like Baixada thanks to a lack of police presence. Authorities have tried to address this, sending a reinforcement of some 600 police to Rio's metropolitan area earlier this month

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BRAZIL / 31 DEC 2021

Prediction of the criminal dynamics for 2022 is even harder than most years, as it involves predicting the march of…

COCAINE / 29 JUN 2022

Turkish and foreign law enforcement have seized record quantities of cocaine heading from South America to Turkey, revealing the growing…

COCAINE / 5 NOV 2021

US prosecutors have charged an alleged MS13 leader in Honduras and another man thought to be one of his main…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.