Number of Killings by Police in São Paulo Rises

08/18/2015 - 08h23

The death toll by on-duty paulista police in the first six months of 2015 grew by 10 percent compared to the same period last year and holds the record in the last ten years of the State.

For public safety experts, the data indicates that confrontation culture remains rooted in the police-something that, for them, ends up inciting dead squads.

"If you have a high fatality rate, you create a favorable environment. And that confrontation logic. If it's kill or die, then let's kill immediately. Be it on duty or off", says Renato Sérgio de Lima, sociologist from the Brazilian Forum for Public Safety.

On Thursday (13), 18 people died in a series of attacks in Osasco and Barueri, in greater São Paulo, and, although no one was arrested, it is suspected that the massacre was committed by military police, in retaliation for the death of a colleague.

The statistics for the death toll by on-duty police refer to Alexandre de Moraes first semester heading the Office for Safety managed by São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB).

The 358 deaths executed by on-duty State police for the period are 128 percent greater than the 157 registered for the first six months of 2013 when Fernando Grella Vieira took over the portfolio.

The data includes actions by civil and military police on the job. The agents say that these incidents occur in confrontations with bandits-whose actions could be even more violent.

The number of officer deaths, however, does not follow the same trend: between 2007 and 2011, they varied from 14 and 15 for the semester; in subsequent years, 9; in 2015, 11.

PRIORITY

The São Paulo government says "reducing police lethality rates is a priority" and that it has taken measures to allow for the greatest efficiency in the investigation of the deaths.

It mentions a resolution from this year that determines the presence of Internal Affairs and commanders in the region, in addition to a specific team of experts for the preservation of sites.

The office also said that the last four months have witnessed a change in the framework, with a 15 percent decrease in military police lethality. And that a comparison with data from July -not yet officially released-points to a 1.6 percent decrease.

Deaths that occurred in traffic fights, bars or even massacres, are classified as ordinary murder.

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ

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