Brazil: São Paulo registers increase in homicides, rapes, robberies, and thefts in August

The State of São Paulo registered an increase in the total of homicides, rapes, robberies, and thefts last August compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the Secretariat of Public Safety (SSP) on Monday, September 26.

Respectively, these crimes grew by 1.3%, 18.2%, 11.9%, and 21% compared to the previous year.

The most significant increase was noticed in thefts, which reached 50,441 last month.

Although the growth compared to August last year was already expected, since the state was still under most of the 2021 pandemic circulation restrictions, this is the highest total of thefts recorded in a single month since March 2006.

The 21,654 thefts recorded in August this year are also the highest monthly total since February 2020, a month before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus pandemic and the state adopted restrictive measures against the disease.

On the other hand, the number of robberies and thefts from vehicles is the lowest in the historical series, which started in 2001, when the two years of isolation were disregarded.

The 1,180 rape records in the state are also the worst for August in the entire last decade. The last time the month exceeded this mark was in 2012, when there were 1,184 such crimes reported.

The increase in crime rates, which are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, is registered even after the state government’s efforts, which since May has increased the police force on the streets through Operation Suffocation.

The strategy started by doubling the number of agents in action in the capital and, in recent months, was expanded to cities in the interior and on the coast.

“In the last two years, São Paulo has experienced a period of great social isolation, caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which directly impacted the criminal dynamics,” justifies the SSP.

The folder also claims that there was a drop in overall theft rates but uses an unconventional method of analysis for this statement, comparing August this year with the first eight months of 2019 “pre-pandemic period in which there was no restriction on the movement of people,” according to SSP.

In a note, the SSP also points out that more than 3,000 vehicles were recovered, 17,700 people were arrested, by warrant or in flagrante, 375 tons of drugs, and 6,400 stolen cell phones were seized after the beginning of Operation Sufoco.

With information from Estadão