Brazil has the lowest number of murders in 14 years

A decrease in the main security indicators, improved relations with states and municipalities, efforts to curb crimes against women and children, a decrease in deforestation in the Amazon and a commitment to the policy of removing illegal weapons from circulation. Flávio Dino, Minister of Justice and Public Security, spoke at the Planalto Palace alongside President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other ministers and specialists about the sector during the first 13 months of the current Federal Government administration. Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, January 31, he stated that one of his main concerns was the consolidation of the Single Public Security System.

These statistics are the translation and concretization of this system. Public security is an issue that encompasses the whole of society, but the biggest victims are precisely the poorest, so it's a social and institutional issue too"

Flávio Dino, Minister of Justice and Public Security

"These statistics are the translation and concretization of this system. Public security is an issue that encompasses the whole of society, but the biggest victims are precisely the poorest, so it's also a social and institutional issue too", said Dino.

Check out the full presentation of Balance 2023 | MJSP (available in Portuguese)

According to the balance sheet, Brazil ended 2023 with the lowest record of Intentional Lethal Violent Crimes (ILVC) since 2010. In 2023, 40,429 ILVCs were recorded. Compared to 2022, which recorded 42,190 ILVCs, the decrease is 4.17%, which represents almost 2,000 Brazilian lives saved.

ILVCs are considered to be intentional homicide, robbery resulting in death, femicide and bodily injury followed by death. The data was entered into SINESP, the national public security data system, and sent to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security by the 26 states and the Federal District.

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FEDERATIVE PACT - Dino stressed that there has been a 13% increase in the amount invested in public security. The ministry donated more than BRL 389 million in equipment, vehicles, weapons and drones to the states, in an effort to improve and expand the local work of the military and civil police. The minister also celebrated significant decreases in 2023 compared to 2022 in indices such as vehicle theft (down 9.78%), cargo theft (down 11%) and the 40.91% decrease in crimes against financial institutions, which according to the minister has an important symbolic dimension because the funds stolen from these banks feed the so-called "new cangaço".

PER DIEMS AND OPERATIONS - In addition, more than 873,000 per diems were adopted for police in the states to structure and carry out integrated operations, an investment of BRL 262 million. Operation Peace alone, focused on reducing homicides in 12 states, had an investment of BRL 123 million.

In addition to this effort, the new policy of restricting firearms, which has reduced their circulation in national territory, has led to a 25.5% increase in seizures of illegal weapons. There were 10,600 seized in 2023 compared to 8,500 seized in 2022.

Minister Flávio Dino reiterated that it is necessary to encourage penal alternatives and to understand that punishment is not synonymous with imprisonment. "Prison should be reserved for crimes committed with violence and serious threats to people. The idea that we have a doctrinal position that is weak in the fight against organized crime is false. What we advocate is the proportional use of force, in which more serious crimes receive an equally serious criminal response," he said.

HUMANISM - At the end of the event, President Lula emphasized that one of the challenges of public policies in the area of security is to bet on the possibility of forming a new human being, based on education, family and humanism, and to fight organized crime intelligently. Lula thanked Flávio Dino for his time in the ministry (the minister is leaving the executive branch to take up a seat on the Supreme Court) and wished luck to Ricardo Lewandowski, who will take up the position in the ministry from Thursday, February 1.

"We want to see if we can humanize the fight against petty crime and play very hard to tackle the so-called international organized crime industry. It has airplanes, ships, boats, yachts, industry, everything. It has the power to make decisions, to influence governments and countries, and that's what we have to tackle. And then we have to invest in a lot of intelligence because catching these people is always more complicated," commented the president.

ROBBERY RESULTING IN DEATH - Cases of robbery resulting in death fell by 23.64% in the country last year, when 953 such incidents were recorded, compared to 2022, when the number reached 1,248.

CORRUPTION - In 2023, 227 anti-corruption operations were launched by the Federal Police, resulting in 147 arrests, 2,091 search and seizure warrants and BRL 897 million in goods and valuables seized.

AMAZON - 182 operations were launched in the Legal Amazon, in the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Roraima, Rondônia and Tocantins. There was a 49.9% decrease in deforestation in the region.

GLO - With the aim of strengthening the fight against organized crime, President Lula signed a decree in November 2023 for the Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO). Preventive and repressive actions were carried out in the ports of Rio de Janeiro and Itaguaí and in the Bays of Guanabara and Sepetiba, in Rio; in the Brazilian area of Lake Itaipu, in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná; in the Port of Santos and its maritime accesses, in the state of São Paulo; in addition to the Tom Jobim International Airport, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and the São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport.

From November 6, 2023 to January 23, 2024, 109,437 vehicles were searched, 286,234 passengers were searched and around 9,100 cargo trucks were inspected. The federal government also seized 77 tons of drugs and arrested 1,017 people during the period. The total value of the decapitalization of organized crime through the GLO reached BRL 1.4 billion.

FEMINICIDE - The main rates of violence in Brazil fell in the 12 months of 2023 compared to the same period last year. Indicators of femicide fell by 1.86%. In 2022 there were 1,449 cases of this type in Brazil, compared to 1,422 last year. Throughout 2023, the National Program for Public Security with Citizenship (Pronasci 2) was launched. The aim is to work, in cooperation with states, municipalities and the Federal District, with the participation of families and the community in programs, projects and actions of technical and financial assistance and social mobilization.