New Report Shows Alarming Rise in Murder and Robbery in Rio

By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Tuesday, November 1st, the Institute of Public Security (ISP) for Rio de Janeiro State released alarming figures from its latest report, showing that from January of this year up to September, the state registered 17.6 percent more homicides than the same period in 2015. Other crimes also rose during the January to September period this year, including fatal assaults, which rose by 19.7 percent, and street robberies, which skyrocketed up 44.1 percent.

The actual numbers from the report show that from January to September 2016, there were 3,649 homicides registered in the state, compared to 3,098 in the same 2015 period. Fatal assaults for this year, which include intentional homicide and deaths resulting from armed robbery or police intervention, totaled 4,482 up to September. Last year, by September, there were 3,744 fatal assaults.

According to the report, the largest increase in the nine-month period was seen in street robberies. In the 2016 period, there were 91,826 street robberies recorded, a whopping 44.1 percent increase over the 2015 figure of 63,714.

In September alone, there were 423 homicides throughout the state. That figure represents a 20.5 percent increase over September 2015, which recorded 351 homicides. Fatal assaults totaled 532 for September 2016, as compared to 415 in September 2015, a 28.2 percent increase.

Street robberies in September 2016 almost doubled last year’s number, with 11,199 occurring in September 2016, against September 2015’s low in comparison number of 6,748.

The ISP report also noted several other sobering statistics for the January to September 2016 period. Civil and Military Police killed on duty increased from 21 in the 2015 period to 26 in 2016. There were 635 deaths from police intervention, including resisting arrest, a 22.8 percent increase over the 2015 figure of 517.