Violent Deaths Reach All Time High and Brazil Records 175 Murders a Day

08/10/2018 - 13h50

Brazil's national violent intentional deaths rate rose 3 percent and reached 30.8 deaths for each 100,00 people in 2017, when 63,880 people died this way in the country. It's the worst rate in the track record, started in 2013. The average was 175 murders a day.

The number of people killed by the police also jumped in 2017: 5,144 deaths, with a daily average of 14. This is a 20% increase comparing to the previous year. However, the number of policemen killed in the line of duty decreased 5 percent, to 367 deaths.

The number of rapes also increased 8 percent, with 60,018 cases. The same

Research organization Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública (Brazilian Forum of Public Safety), collected 2017 police data from all Brazilian states.

The criteria for the intentional violent death numbers include murders, theft followed by murder or manslaughter, assault followed by death, dead policemen in the line of duty and civilian deaths during police interventions. The organization started collecting these data in 2013, hence the short track record.

Rio Grande do Norte was Brazil's most violent state last year, according to the 12º Brazilian Annual Public Safety Report, released on Thursday (9).

The state recorded 68 deaths for each 100,000 inhabitants, which is more than double of the national average. Rio Grande do Norte was also the stage of Alcaçuz jail mass murder in January 2017, when a dispute among criminal factions killed 26 people. Police in the state complain of low wage and bad working conditions. It went on strike in December, which increased robberies, larcenies and murders.

Translated by NATASHA MADOV

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