The state of Rio de Janeiro closed the first quarter of the year with a drop in the number of crimes against life, with violent lethality reaching the lowest percentage in 34 years. The indicator, which includes intentional homicide, bodily injury followed by death, robbery followed by death and death due to the intervention of a State agent, fell 31% in the first quarter and 25% in March, compared to the same period in 2023.
The trend also appears in intentional homicides, when there is the intention to kill, which decreased by 16% in the first three months of 2024, marking the lowest level since 1991, when the historical series of the Public Security Institute (ISP) began.
With the increase in the number of Federal Highway Police (PRF) teams patrolling the federal access roads to Rio and Arco Metropolitano, cargo thefts reached historic reductions: 54% in March and 47% in the quarter, the lowest rates since 1999.
Deaths caused by state agents fell 53% from January to March: there were 152 victims, 172 fewer than in the same period of the previous year. In the monthly analysis, the drop was even more significant, 66%. With this percentage, the state of Rio reaches the lowest number for this indicator for the months of March in the last 12 years.
“The numbers presented by the ISP are an important indication of the performance of police forces in the state of Rio,” said the Secretary of Public Security, Victor dos Santos. He highlighted that the data is constantly monitored and analyzed and serves as a guide for security planning.
The police productivity of state security forces is also on the rise. In three months, the Civil and Military Police secretariats recovered around 4,000 stolen or stolen vehicles, 8% more than in the first quarter of 2023. 10,609 arrests were made in the act and 3,547 warrants were served, with a quarterly increase of 13% and 21%, respectively. In the same period, 1,592 firearms were seized in the state, approximately 17 per day. Of these, 190 were rifles.
The ISP’s CEO, Marcela Ortiz, highlighted that the culture of data use plays a fundamental role in the planning, evaluation and monitoring of each region of the state. This, without a doubt, has contributed to the historic reductions in cargo theft and violent fatalities, said Marcela.
Indicators
According to the ISP, there were 766 intentional homicides in the first quarter, of which 277 occurred in March. In comparison with March 2023, there was a drop of 19% and, in the quarter, 16%. It was the lowest number of deaths for the month since 2022 and for the number accumulated since 1991.
From January to March, 587 cases of cargo theft were recorded, of which 222 occurred last month. Compared to March 2023, there was a drop of 54%. In the quarter, the decrease was 47%. This was the lowest number for the month and the number accumulated since 1999.
In the first quarter, there were 5,801 drug seizures in the state, an increase of 1% last month and 8% accumulated.
The weapons seized during the period totaled 1,592, with 17 weapons removed from circulation per day. 190 rifles were seized in the first quarter, which means that two weapons of this type per day are no longer in circulation in the state.
According to the ISP, there were 10,609 arrests in the first quarter, 3,754 of which last month. Compared to 2023, the indicator increased by 11% in the month and 13% in the year to date.
