RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro State Government’s Public Security Institute (ISP) data point to a 33% decrease in the recorded cases of cargo theft in the capital in 2020, compared to 2019. The declining trend precedes the pandemic: a reduction in occurrences has been observed since 2018.
This type of crime was one of the most recurrent in Rio de Janeiro and was of great concern to the population, in addition to directly affecting the state of Rio de Janeiro’s economy.
According to the report released by ISP in April, the pandemic did not significantly impact this type of crime. Since it depends more on the circulation of trucks and not as much on casual encounters between victims and criminals, social isolation could not have been the driver behind the drop in the number of cargo theft cases.
In 2020, 2,112 cargo thefts were recorded in the capital. More than half occurred in the North Zone (62.3%). In contrast, very few cases were reported in the South Zone (24) and in the Center (56). The West Zone registered a significant number, proportional to 1/3 of reported cases.
Over time, the pattern of locations has remained the same. In the last 10 years, the North Zone witnessed at least 59% of registered cases. The West Zone maintained its position as the second region with the most cases of cargo theft every year. In turn, the South Zone and the Center have never accumulated more than a quarter of cases.
Although the city of Rio accounts for the highest number of thefts in the state, it does not register the highest figure per number of inhabitants. The data for 2020 point out that when comparing the robbery rate per 100,000 inhabitants, the city of Duque de Caxias, in the capital’s metropolitan area, tops the list. The capital ranks 7th among the cities with the highest rate of cargo theft, registering a rate of 31.3 robberies per 100,000 inhabitants.
According to research assistant of Rio21 Institute Carolina Carvalho: “The data point to a scenario of reduction in recent years, but the 2,112 cargo theft cases in the city of Rio alone in the year 2020 draw attention. Moreover, the data from the Public Security Institute allow the perception that it is up to public authorities to pay more attention to the metropolitan region, which registers higher numbers than the capital itself, proportionally. The fight against thefts will not only provide physical safety to truckers, but also to the entire distribution chain, as well as consumers.”