Crime in Brazil includes drug trafficking,

Loan shark, money laundering, extortion,

murder for hire, fraud, human trafficking,
corruption, and black marketing. Brazil's
homicide rate has been well over 20.0
homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, which
places the country among the top 20 countries
by intentional homicide rate. The murder rate
varies wildly across such a large country and
some regions have much lower homicide rates
than others. According to the U.S. Department
of State, a majority of crimes are not solved. Brazilian National Special Force

Brazil has serious problems with crime, especially in the following cities with highest
homicide rates by aggression in the country.

Current Problems

With roughly 23.8 homicides per 100,000 residents,

muggings, robberies, kidnappings and gang violence are
common. Police brutality and corruption are widespread.
Inefficient public services, especially those related to
security, education and health, severely affect quality of
life. Organized crime is well established in Rio de Janeiro
and São Paulo, and include some major criminal
organizations like Comando Vermelho, Amigos dos
Amigos and Primeiro Comando da Capital. In 2006 49,145
people were murdered in Brazil--an increase when
compared to 2005, during which 47,578 people were
killed. The year of 2003 still holds the record for total
number of murders in Brazil; that year alone 51,043
people were murdered. Computer hacking and internet
fraud have a strong presence in Brazil, with eight out of
every ten of the world's hackers from Brazil.

Brasilia, the capital, was once spared the crime rates of other Brazilian cities, but now has
significant crime problems. Following the citywide trend of previous years, reports of
residential burglaries continue to occur in the generally affluent residential sections of the
city. Public transportation, hotel sectors and tourist areas are still the locations with the
highest crime rates, though statistics show that incidents can happen anywhere and at
anytime. The majority of kidnappings in Brasilia continue to be the “quicknappings.”

Carjacking is common, particularly in major cities. Local

citizens and visitors alike are often targeted by criminals,
especially during public festivals such as the Carnaval.
More than 500,000 people have been killed by firearms in
Brazil between 1979 and 2003, according to a new report by
the United Nations.

A favela in São Paulo

Gang-related violence is common throughout the Capital Brasilia. Most incidents have been
directed at police, security officials and related facilities but gangs have also attacked official
buildings, set alight public buses and robbed several banks. May 2006 São Paulo violence
began on the night of 12 May 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the worst outbreak of
violence which has been recorded in Brazilian history and was directed against security
forces and some civilian targets. By May 14 the attacks had spread to other Brazilian states
including Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais and Bahia.

Armored police car of Rio de Janeiro

Express kidnappings, where individuals are abducted and

forced to withdraw funds from ATM machines to secure their
release, are common in major cities including Rio de Janeiro,
São Paulo, Brasilia,Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Salvador and
Recife. Petty crime such as pickpocketing and bag snatching is
common. Thieves operate in outdoor markets, in hotels and on
public transport.

Cases of piracy occur in some coastal areas of Brazil. Brazil

has a long coast line with hundreds of bays and rivers. Most of
these are believed to be without pirates. The more dangerous
activities seemed to be centred around the Amazon river
mouth and the region of Santos or Fortaleza.

Efforts to combat crime

The National Security Force

The National Public Security Force (NPSF) was established in June 2004 by the Ministry of
Justice, to act in emergency situations. The NPSF is controlled by the National Security
Bureau (Secretaria Nacional de Segurança) and brings together the best police states and the
Federal Police. This group of elite police officers, similar to the American model of SWAT
teams, was inspired by the peace forces of the United Nations (UN). With the setting up of
troops, the federal government wanted to prevent the transmission of the Armed Forces to
assist the state police in the fight against crime.

BOPE

BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, or Special Police Operations Battalion),

is the elite group of the Military Police. BOPE's exist in Brasília, São José and in many other
cities. The most famous or infamous BOPE, is the BOPE-PMRJ (PMRJ being the 'Rio de
Janeiro military police). Their missions are: break barricades constructed by drug traffickers;
extract police officers or civilians injured in confrontations; serve high-risk arrest warrants;
hostage rescues; suppress prison rebellions; and conduct special missions in rough terrain
such as swamps or mountainous areas. Other states in Brazil have different names for their
special operations groups.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Brazil