Express Kidnapping Cases in São Paulo Are Not Disclosed in Government Statistics

06/26/2015 - 09h14

Physiotherapist Joana (not her real name), 27, was parking her car in a street in the Santo Amaro area (Southern São Paulo) on Monday, June 22nd, when an armed couple approached - they wanted to keep her hostage while another criminal withdrew money from her account and went shopping with her credit cards.

"I find it difficult to sleep to this day. We feel very vulnerable."

This is a classic case of express kidnapping - a crime that, although very common in São Paulo, is as if it were invisible: it is unknown whether it has increased, plunged or the number of victims it has made.

This is because the Department of Security does not disclose the numbers for this crime separately. Amid the statistics of violence, express kidnapping is added to robberies statistics.

The government is able to quantify this type of crime: in police reports there a "express kidnapping" option.

This was the category which at least 11 crimes were attributed to a couple arrested on Tuesday, June 23rd, on charges of practicing express kidnappings in southern São Paulo, including the attack on Joana on Monday – she managed to escape when the car died minutes after being held hostage, and was not injured.

"Express kidnappings are considered stealing. This is how the methodology is typified. If the kidnapping lasts a few hours, then it is understood as extortion by kidnapping", the security secretary Alexandre de Moraes said on Thursday, June 25th, without giving details on the criteria.

"What is published is only what has to be published for compliance, not a line more. It's a political thing, not technical," the sociologist Guaracy Mingardi said.

Translated by CRISTIANE COSTA LIMA

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