Police violence in Brazil: a black person is killed every 4 hours

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A survey conducted by the Network of Observatories on Security (ROS) revealed that the police kill a black person every 4 hours in at least 6 Brazilian states: Bahia, Ceará, Piauí, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

There were 2,653 racially registered deaths in 2020, 82.7% of which had black or brown-skinned people as victims.

The ROS study places the Rio de Janeiro police as the most lethal in absolute figures, with 939 records among the 1,092 deaths whose race was reported. São Paulo, the most populous state in the country, presents the second highest number of murders of black people. Bahia leads proportionally, with 98% of black victims, followed closely by Pernambuco, with 97%.

The numbers make up the scenario of structural racism in Brazil where black and brown people are 2.6 times more likely to be murdered, represent 2/3 of all prisoners and have a three-year lower life expectancy than whites.

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