Residents and tourists in Copacabana, a neighborhood in the southern zone of Rio de Janeiro, have adopted different habits to avoid thefts amid an increase in the sense of insecurity in the region.
In a bar, a sound system was locked to a chair with a bike lock. On the street, a beach umbrella was chained to a bench with an iron chain. A taxi driver said the measure was to prevent thefts.
One of the most common measures is to avoid going out at night. "I used to like going to the supermarket at night, but now I try to do everything during the day," said economist Lúcia Rocha Santos, 36.
Tourists Vinícius Prates, 23, and Jossiano Vieira, 24, say they only learned about the wave of insecurity in the neighborhood when they arrived in the city. "We left the bus station, and the driver of the ride-sharing car advised us about using the phone on the streets," Prates said.
A resident of Duvivier Street, next to Copacabana Palace, says she uses three phones: one stays at home and has the main bank account data. Another, with a secondary bank account, is only for street use of transactions. And a third one only makes calls and, in case of a robbery, is handed over to the thief.