Problem: In Brazil, there is no official body responsible for monitoring and following crime and violence indicators at a national level. What we have are several institutions and agencies that play this role at the state level, such as the Institute of Public Security in Rio de Janeiro (Instituto de Segurança Pública - ISP-RJ), in addition to some public security departments in other states. Some organizations are still dedicated to collecting these different data and preparing periodic monitoring reports, such as the Brazilian Public Security Forum (Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública), which annually produces yearbooks available that gather data from police records on crime, as well as information on the prison system and public security expenses. However, there is still a significant demand for a coordinated effort to integrate and analyze these numbers, together with other sources of data and research, in order to allow a more comprehensive visualization and assessment of the national scenario in relation to these indicators.
Proposal: As part of its activities, CCAS carries out continuous monitoring of violence indicators in Brazil, considering various data sources. Its most recent analysis covered the evolution of national criminal indicators in Brazil, including comparisons between Brazilian states. This compilation was prepared mainly from data extracted from the Yearbooks of the Brazilian Public Security Forum (Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública) and the National Household Sample Survey (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios - PNAD Contínua) supplement on victimization, carried out in the last quarter of 2021.
Partners: FGV Analytics.
Team: Joana Monteiro (CCAS / FGV Analytics), Marcos Cambrainha (CCAS) e Yasmin Santos (CCAS).
Products: Presentation [Download PDF] | Release [Read here].
Status: In progress.
Problem: Most of the actions to prevent risk factors for crime and violence are the responsibility of the Municipal Government, such as urban interventions and actions in the area of health and education aimed at groups in situations of social vulnerability. However, the activities of municipalities in the area of Public Security are usually limited to the activities of the Municipal Guard and the implementation of socio-educational measures in an open environment. Law 13.675/18 that establishes the Unified Public Security System (SUSP) seeks to change this scenario by determining that States and Municipalities prepare their respective Public Security Plans, aligned with the objectives of the National Public Security and Social Defense Policy (PNSPDS ), created by the same Law. This seeks to stimulate joint, coordinated, systemic and integrated action by public security and social defense bodies of the Union, the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities, in conjunction with society. According to the PNSPDS 2021-2030 in force, municipalities must prepare their municipal security plans for the 2022-2023 biennium, preceded by research and studies that favor an adequate diagnosis of reality and consider the multiple manifestations of violence.
Proposal: Develop a Municipal Public Security and Public Order Plan for the municipality of Saquarema, aligned with SUSP and PNSPDS, which seeks to assist the Municipal Secretariat of Security and Public Order in meeting its obligations and offering better services to citizens . To this end, based on scientific evidence, the Plan proposes a multidisciplinary, planned, proactive and integrated action with the other Secretariats and municipal actors involved.
Parceiros: FGV Projetos.
Team: Joana Monteiro (CCAS), Silvio Guimarães (FGV Projetos), Yasmin Santos (CCAS) e Fernanda Gama (FGV Projetos).
Financier: Prefeitura Municipal de Saquarema.
Production: Municipal Public Security and Social Defense Plan [Download PDF] | Annex I - Diagnosis of the municipality of Saquarem [Download PDF] | Executive Summary (Resumo) [Download PDF]
Status: Completed.
Problem: Police forces have a legitimate monopoly on the use of force in Brazil, which must be used to preserve the public interest and always with respect for human dignity. In a context of high police lethality, the Military Police of the State of São Paulo has introduced a series of initiatives in recent years with the aim of reducing the disproportionate use of police force, in particular the use of body cameras, a technology that is growing use in countries such as the United States and England. However, there is still little evidence on the impact of body cameras, especially within the institutional apparatus and in the context of Latin American countries that have higher rates of crime and violence.
Proposal: Evaluate the impact of the use of cameras by the Military Police of the State of São Paulo on: (i) use of force and police activity; (ii) police officers' perception of the camera's effects on their work and relationship with the population; (iii) crime rates. To this end, a quasi-experiment will be conducted, where police companies selected for the cameras during the initial phase of the program will be paired with similar companies that have not yet received the cameras.
Team: Joana Monteiro (CCAS), Eduardo Fagundes (CCAS), Julia Guerra (CCAS) e Leandro Piquet (USP).
Funders: Innovations for Poverty Action — Peace and Recovery Program.
Production: Research Report [Download PDF]
Videos: Assessment of the impact of the use of body cameras by the military police of the state of São Paulo | Understanding the methodology used to assess the impact of the use of body cameras by PMESP
Status: Completed.
Read more:
Seminars
“The impact of body cameras on police action” by the USP Violence Studies Center (NEV). Participation by Joana Monteiro, Director of CCAS: [YouTube]
Articles:
Barbosa, D., Fetzer, T., Souza, P. C., and Vieira, C. De-escalation technology: the impact of body-worn cameras on citizen-police interactions. 2021. [Download PDF]
Braga, A. A., Sousa, W. H., Coldren Jr, J. R., and Rodriguez, D. The effects of body-worn cameras on police activity and police-citizen encounters: A randomized controlled trial. J. Crim. L. & Criminology, 2018, 108:511. [Download PDF]
Kim, T. Facilitating police reform: Body cameras, use of force, and law enforcement outcomes. Use of Force, and Law Enforcement Outcomes. October 23, 2019. [Download PDF]
Lum, C., Stoltz, M., Koper, C. S., and Scherer, J. A. Research on body-worn cameras: What we know, what we need to know. Criminology & public policy, 2019, 18(1):93–118. [Download PDF]
Williams Jr, M. C., Weil, N., Rasich, E. A., Ludwig, J., Chang, H., and Egrari, S. Body-worn cameras in policing: Benefits and costs. 2021. [Download PDF]
Problem: Adolescence is a phase of life characterized by greater impulsivity and risk propensity, neurological aspects associated with poorer school performance, alcohol and drug abuse and greater exposure to violence. The literature on the subject indicates that preventive public policies capable of promoting adolescents' behavioral skills and providing necessary tools to help them with the challenges of this stage of life are more effective than the adoption of punitive strategies. In particular, cognitive behavioral therapy has been used by psychologists for more than three decades to affect dysfunctional automatic thoughts, change impulsive beliefs and behaviors, and help with planning individual daily activities. After tests in Chicago and Liberia, this type of therapy has more recently come to be considered a very effective and promising practice to help reduce behavior at risk of criminal involvement in young people. However, in the Brazilian context, some challenges arise: Are these interventions sufficient to reduce involvement in violence and criminal acts in a challenging socioeconomic context such as the outskirts of large cities? How can we offer this type of therapy on a scale? Is it possible to use schools as a basis for identifying young people and providing assistance in the post-pandemic context? How to attract and keep young people engaged in the project? These are questions that, to be answered, require the implementation of a pilot project, whose design is informed by existing scientific evidence, focused on young people and adapted to the context of large Brazilian cities and the post-pandemic scenario.
Proposal: Design and implement a pilot project that uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques to promote changes in the way young people think, feel and behave, aiming to develop their communication skills, managing emotions, assertiveness, building self-esteem and resistance to peer pressure. The research project contemplates the different phases of an evidence-based public policy formulation process, starting with the diagnosis of the problem and systematization of evidence, to then formulate, implement and evaluate a program on a pilot scale. The pilot project will be offered to at least 300 elementary schools in municipal public schools on the outskirts of São Paulo, in the second half of 2022. This will allow us to monitor in detail the operational challenges as well as the results on the target audience, and consequently understand the feasibility and adaptations necessary to implement a program along these lines on a scale. At the end of the project, it is expected to have the project design and material to be implemented and tested through a randomized controlled experiment.
Partners: São Paulo Municipal Department of Education (SME).
Team: Joana Monteiro (CCAS), Rafael Aquino (CCAS), Natália Ribeiro (CCAS), Alisson Santos (CCAS), Julia Guerra (CCAS), João Lima (CCAS) and Yasmin Santos (CCAS).
Funders: Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC), Parliamentary Amendment by Federal Deputy Tabata Amaral and FGV Applied Research and Knowledge Network.
Production: Program Design [Download PDF] | Implementation Repor [Download PDF] | Conheça o Programa Na Moral [Download PDF]
Status: Em andamento.
Saiba mais:
Artigos
Heller SB, Shah AK, Guryan J, Ludwig J, Mullainathan S, Pollack HA. Thinking, Fast and Slow? Some Field Experiments to Reduce Crime and Dropout in Chicago. Q J Econ. 2017 Feb;132(1):1-54. [Download PDF]
Blattman, Christopher, Julian C. Jamison, and Margaret Sheridan. 2017. "Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Liberia." American Economic Review, 107 (4): 1165-1206. [Download PDF]
Blattman, Christopher, Chaskel, Sebastian, Jamison, Julian C. & Sheridan, Margaret. Cognitive Behavior Therapy Reduces Crime and Violence over 10 Years: Experimental Evidence. NBER Working Paper No. 30049. [Download PDF]
Dossiê
Dossiê Criança e Adolescente, 2015. [Download PDF]
Podcasts
Freakonomics – “I Don’t Know What You’ve Done With My Husband But He’s A Changed Man”: [Ouça agora]
Probable Causation – Lelys Dinarte on after-school programs in El Salvador: [Ouça agora]
Hidden Brain – Making The World A Safer Place: [Ouça agora]
Problem: In 2021, more than 38 thousand street robberies occurred in the city of Rio de Janeiro. However, crime does not occur randomly in the territory, nor does it affect everyone in the same way. According to data analysis from 2019, half of street robberies occurred in just 3.5% of the territory and these high-incidence areas are quite stable, as they are typically areas with high circulation of people. However, despite being high-risk locations, they often lack adequate lighting, preventive patrolling and minimal public space planning, which could help deter crimes from occurring.
Proposal: Design and execute a pilot project of municipal urban interventions, with a high cost-benefit ratio, to reduce risk factors in micro-localities that concentrate a significant portion of these crimes in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Partners: Secretariat of Public Order of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (SEOP) and University of São Paulo (USP).
Team: Joana Monteiro (CCAS), Julia Guerra (CCAS), Leandro Piquet (USP) and José Roberto (UNISA).
Production: Program Rationale [Download PDF].
Status: Completed.
In the Media: Rio City Hall
Know more:
Articles
Chainey, S.P., Pezzuchi, G., Guerrero Rojas, N.O. et al. Crime concentration at micro-places in Latin America. Crime Sci 8, 5, 2019. [Download PDF]
Chainey, S.P., Monteiro, J. The dispersion of crime concentration during a period of crime increase. Secur J 32, 324–341, 2019. [Download PDF]
Problem: In urban peripheries around the world, and especially in Latin America, criminal groups use coercive power to impose rules and order on the civilian population. The reasons why gangs govern in specific ways, or in general, are poorly understood. Many groups extort the population, control drug retail markets, interfere in fights between neighbors, resolve family disputes and regulate crime in the locality. During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, news broke about how drug factions and militias were preventing or facilitating social isolation measures and distributing masks and alcohol in Rio de Janeiro. For many, these mentions suggest that organized crime intervened where the State should have acted, taking the opportunity to consolidate its position. Rio de Janeiro is a particularly rich place to study criminal governance, as three drug factions and militia groups are present in hundreds of favelas and peripheral areas. What are the typical criminal governance practices of each criminal group? How have groups responded to the health measures suggested to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic? Did drug factions and militia groups behave differently in the face of the pandemic? It is understood that only systematic data can answer these questions and help assess whether the pandemic contributed to strengthening the control of organized crime over Latin American cities.
Proposal: Conduct research with the population living in favelas in order to obtain information on the presence of criminal groups in communities, criminal governance practices and actions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. To access the population and ask questions about such a sensitive topic, we innovatively used Disque-Denúncia as a primary research platform, by inviting whistleblowers to respond to a structured survey. Contrary to expectations, we found that drug gangs and militias earn rents from a range of licit products and services, enjoy similarly high levels of perceived legitimacy, and largely avoid involvement in the pandemic response. However, militias are much more likely to charge fees and are less invested in drug sales. Our findings suggest that the core motives of gangs are more economic and linked to the regulation of crime and violence than political.
Partners: Disque-Denúncia
Team: Joana Monteiro (CCAS), Benjamin Lessing (Universidade of Chicago) e Santiago Tobon (Universidade EAFIT)
Funders: University of Chicago
Products: Will be added soon.
Status: Completed.