Brazil has an infamously high crime rate. Former President Jair Bolsanaro’s endorsement of police killings, which was generally supported by right-wing politicians, was framed as an effective public safety policy and opposing politicians were portrayed as enemies of the people.
But research on police reform agrees that the only solution for the ongoing violence is community policing. It will take learning the lessons of Brazil’s many failures of police reform to truly implement a safer future for all Brazilians.
In 2021, Brazil's homicide rate reached 22 per 100,000 inhabitants, almost four times higher than the global average. Some 13 percent of all intentional deaths recorded in Brazil were perpetrated by law enforcement agents.
