Challenges for public security in Brazil
This article was written by Carolina Ricardo (the executive director of Instituto Sou da Paz) for issue 95 of the WBO weekly newsletter on December 1, 2023. To subscribe to the newsletter, simply enter your email in the form at the end of the article.
Brazil currently has almost 3 million weapons in the hands of civilians. This number corresponds to more than double the number in 2018, when access was facilitated by the government of Jair Bolsonaro, which published more than 40 regulations expanding the right to bear arms by civilians. Data analysis was carried out by the Sou da Paz and Igarapé institutes in order to understand the extent of arms policies during this period.
To give you an idea, a sport shooter could acquire up to 60 weapons, 30 of which were for restricted use, such as rifles. In July, President Lula signed a decree that halved these limits. This new standard does do some of the work to reverse this situation, however the consequences of the expansion of access to weapons by Bolsonaro has already done a significant amount of damage.
Over the years, the homicide rate has been falling in Brazil, but the number of deaths from firearms has remained the same and now corresponds to 76 percent of total homicides, which is well above the world average of 44 percent. In addition, there are population groups that are more vulnerable to lethal violence. According to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, while homicides of white people fell by 26.5 percent, homicides of Black people increased by 7.5 percent. In 2021, the Black population was also the main victim of intentional homicides (77.6 percent) and death by police (84 percent).
Another important impact of these weapon policies is the fact that the presence of a firearm in the home increases the chances of cases of domestic violence leading to homicide. Thus, the percentage of women killed in their homes increased from 19 percent to 27 percent, between 2012 and 2020, according to the report, “Role of Firearms in Violence Against Women” by the Sou da Paz Institute.
Another important issue is the potential transfer of legally obtained weapons to organized crime groups, such as the recent case of 21 machine guns stolen from an army barracks. There is also an increase in political violence and threats, fueled by the very worrying discourse on weapons in polarized disputes that has been happening in Brazil.
Investigation Blackout
How do you solve a problem about which little is known? Brazil still experiences alarming levels of homicides, with a rate of 23.3 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. There is a serious problem when it comes to solving homicides. An analysis by Sou da Paz showed that only 37 percent of these crimes are solved. In Rio de Janeiro, only 15 percent of homicides are solved.
On the part of the population, disbelief in the State's ability to resolve these conflicts opens space for vigilante justice, which, in turn, feeds organized crime because they end up becoming responsible for punishing murderers. Because of this, crime continues to kill at no additional cost, and society enters a cycle of violence in which the main victims are young Black people.
The Politicization of the Police and the Increase in the Number of Bullets
One of the ways to combat lethal violence is the creation of laws and responsible public security policies. This topic should be one of the main ones discussed in the Brazilian Congress, however, recently candidates from the security forces have started to occupy more and more seats in Congress. A survey by the Sou da Paz Institute pinpointed 103 federal and state congressional representatives and senators in this group.
The overwhelming presence of congressional members from the security forces and who also make up the so-called “Bancada da Bala” (Bullet Caucus) contributes to the hijacking of the security agenda in the legislature, which ends up focusing on defending the excessive use of force by police institutions, on tightening penalties, and making access to weapons more flexible, which has the effect of increasing and legitimizing police violence.
Correcting this lack of societal representation in Congress involves giving clearer outlines to police officer candidates, with well-defined rules when it comes to punishing individuals for non-compliance. It is also necessary to get rid of the "revolving door" practice, an authorization for military police officers with more than 10 years of service to return to service if they are not elected. The decision to become a politician must be final. It is important to prevent police officers from leaving temporarily to launch candidacies. This guarantees the freedom to enter politics and exercise their free right to political participation, but prevents some level of party and ideological contamination, with the return of police officers after elections or mandates.
Possible Paths
There is no simple solution to such a complex issue. To alleviate violence, it is necessary to combine the ability to manage crises with short, medium, and long-term planning. The logic behind the kinds of strategies used to contain crises also has to change, and we must adopt measures that do not reproduce confrontation, such as the mere reinforcement of police or Law and Order Guarantee (GLO) operations by the army in communities where organized crime is present.
Another point is that the National Public Security Fund, with around R$1.5 billion, should be used to control weapons, investigate homicides, and prevent excessive use of force. It should also be used to implement effective and proven policies, such as the adoption of cameras attached to police uniforms, which is a policy that works to protect the lives of police officers and the public.
Regarding gun control, it is important to complete the transition of the supervision over the permission for hunters, shooters, and collectors to own firearms to the Federal Police, improve the data recording system, mark all ammunition, adopt a weapons buyback program and implement gun control programs.
To reduce homicides, it is important to prioritize methods to preserve life, focus on the racial aspect of the problem, create a national indicator to clarify homicides, and guide the supply of federal public resources in accordance with homicide reduction goals.
In the case of police lethality and the excessive politicization of security forces, the country needs to orient police activity towards protecting people and providing services to the community, modernizing the legislation that regulates police corporations, improving and strengthening police control mechanisms, confront the processes of politicization and political instrumentalization of police corporations, demand the elimination of the so-called "revolving door" ideology (authorization for military police officers with more than 10 years of service to return to service if they are not elected), and establish rules that show the distancing of conduct as a police officer from ideology and political action. It is also extremely necessary to guarantee the appreciation of police officers through the protection and guarantee of rights and appropriate working conditions, with emphasis on strengthening physical and mental health care programs.
All of this shows that the problem of violence must be faced from different angles and that the public authorities must have the means to implement policies appropriate to public security without increasing pain and suffering. All paths chosen must have the goal of protecting the right to a dignified life.
