Most Brazilian states do not solve even half of the murders in their jurisdiction – study

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – More than half of all homicides in Brazil remain unsolved. This is according to an unprecedented study by the Instituto Sou da Paz, published on Wednesday, October 13.

The indicator for solving has improved in recent years, reaching 44% in the last survey, but only four states are rated as very efficient in investigating and holding homicidal criminals accountable.

There is a wide variation in state indicators. In Mato Grosso do Sul, for example, 89% of crimes of this type are solved by filing a criminal complaint in the courts against the accused.

In Paraná, just 12% of cases are solved, and in Rio de Janeiro, the percentage is 14%. São Paulo was in the middle with a resolution rate of 46%.

In the study conducted by Sou da Paz, all states were asked to provide information on the resolution of homicides. Sixteen of them and the Federal District responded with sufficient data for the analysis.

The study considers homicides committed in 2018 (a year in which more than 48,000 homicides were recorded) cleared by a report in the same year or by the end of 2019.

The number of national clearances in the latest survey is 12 percentage points higher than the 32% in the Institute’s three previous surveys.

In 2015, 2016, and 2017, the number of states that submitted complete data was lower than in the most recent survey: six, 12, and 11, respectively. Thus, the study released this week represents the entire scenario on national homicide investigative capacity.

Mato Grosso do Sul (89%) is in the lead, followed by Santa Catarina with 83%, Distrito Federal with 81% and Rondônia with 74%.

Only these four states show high effectiveness in clarification. Another eight states are classified as moderately effective (between 66% and 33% clarification), while another five states are below 33%, classifying them as low effectiveness.

With a national indicator of 44% of solved cases, Brazil is below the global average, which is 63%, according to data from 72 countries.

However, the Brazilian percentage is in line with the average of 18 countries in the Americas (a region where fewer homicides are solved), which is 43%. In Europe, the indicator is 92%.

“Ending impunity in crimes against life means eliminating dangerous criminals responsible for countless deaths, preventing new crimes and deaths in revenge spirals, and realizing the right to truth and memory of those directly affected,” the researchers wrote in their analysis.

Over the four editions of the study, there was a steady increase in solved murders in only two states: Espírito Santo and Rondônia. The others fluctuated, as in the case of São Paulo and Paraíba, which registered the first year-on-year decrease in 2018. On the other hand, in Acre, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Pernambuco, the number of solved cases has steadily decreased.

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