Brazil: Armed violence against security forces increases in Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area in October -Fogo Cruzado

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In October, the number of security officers shot and killed in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region increased by 90% compared to last year. The Instituto Fogo Cruzado recorded 19 victims, nine of whom died, while in the same period of 2020, there were ten victims: four dead and six injured. 53% (10) of the officers shot in October were on duty.

The Fogo Cruzado Institute program director, Maria Isabel Couto, points to the need for a public policy that reverses these statistics and develops a public safety plan that protects everyone. “It is necessary to consider a review of protocols for police operations to save the lives of citizens, including police officers.

The number of police officers shot has increased, so that last month the Rio metropolitan region reached the sad mark of 100 military police officers shot this year. “The category is the most affected by gun violence among the security forces. It is urgent to investigate the cases of police officers shot, including off-duty, so that those responsible are punished, the families receive answers, and the situation is clarified,” affirms Maria Isabel.

Between January and October 2021, the Fogo Cruzado Institute recorded 4,122 shootings/shootings in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region, of which 1,305 were committed by security forces.

A total of 1,793 people were shot, of whom 924 died, and 869 were wounded. Compared to the same period in 2020, which concentrated 3,978 shootings/gunshots with firearms, in which a total of 1,562 people were shot (789 dead and 773 wounded), there was an increase of 4% in shootings, 17% in those shot and 12% in those wounded.

OCTOBER DATA IN DETAILS

In October, the Fogo Cruzado Institute recorded 338 shootings/gunshot wounds in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. This is a decrease of 20% compared to the same period in 2020 when 420 records were obtained.

Of the 338 shootings recorded this month, security officers were present in 138 cases, representing 41% of the cases. The number of shootings in these situations is up 9% from last October, when 127 shootings involved security officers.

One hundred seventy-three people were shot in the Rio metropolitan area last month: 83 died, and 90 were injured. There was a decrease of 33% in deaths and an increase of 3% in wounded compared to October 2020, when of the 211 people shot, 124 died, and 87 were wounded.

Compared to September, when there were 286 shootings with 131 people shot (61 killed and 70 wounded), October saw an 18% increase in shootings, a 36% increase in fatalities, and a 29% increase in injured.

Among the dates most affected by armed violence in October, October 8 had the most shootings, with 24 cases. The 31st of the month had the most deaths, with seven victims, and the 16th had the most wounded, with seven entries.

PLACES OF VIOLENCE

Of the municipalities in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region, the five most affected by armed violence were:

Rio de Janeiro: 162 shootings, 35 deaths, and 35 wounded.

Duque de Caxias: 45 shootings, three dead and five injured

São Gonçalo: 42 shootings, 13 killed and 23 injured

Niterói: 23 shootings, four killed and 12 injured

Belford Roxo: 20 shootings, six dead, and three injured.

Of the neighborhoods that are part of Greater Rio, the five most affected were:

Olavo Bilac – Duque de Caxias: 15 shootings

Praça Seca: 9 shootings

Vicente de Carvalho: 8 shootings

Santa Rosa – Niterói: 7 shootings, one dead and one injured

Bangu: 7 shootings and one dead

The Baixada Fluminense and the North Zone of Rio were the regions of Greater Rio most affected by shootings in October. However, the eastern metropolitan area had the most shootings.

Baixada Fluminense: 103 shootings, 29 dead and 16 injured

North zone: 98 shootings, ten killed and 24 injured

Metropolitan East: 73 shootings, 19 dead and 39 injured

West Zone: 50 shootings, 20 killed and 6 injured

Downtown: 13 shootings, five deaths, and five injuries

South: 1 shooting

In October, there were 30 shootings or firearms-related injuries in Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) areas. A total of 10 people were shot in these locations. The most affected areas were:

Complexo da Penha: 12 shootings and one injured.

Andaraí: 4 shootings

Formiga: 3 shootings and one injured

Turano: 2 shootings and one death

Barreira do Vasco/Tuiutí: 2 shootings and two injured.

ABOUT FOGO CRUZADO

Fogo Cruzado is an institute that uses technology to create and disseminate open and collaborative data on armed violence to strengthen democracy through social change and the protection of life.

Using its innovative methodology, the institution’s data lab produces more than 20 unprecedented violence indicators in the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and soon in other Brazilian cities.

Through a cell phone application, Fogo Cruzado receives information about shootings, which are reviewed in real-time. They are included in the only open database on armed violence in Latin America, accessible for free through the institute’s API.