During a visit to Rio de Janeiro this Thursday (26), the head of the New York Police Department, Michael J. LiPetri, advocated for intensive use of remote monitoring and data science as the basis for tackling public security problems. Rio City Hall recognizes the U.S. city as a model for forming the new Municipal Force, an elite armed division of the Municipal Guard, which is set to begin operations in March.
LiPetri visited the Center for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Technology in Support of Public Security (CIVITAS Rio), where he exchanged experiences with Mayor Eduardo Paes.
“In New York, we prioritize placing the best data scientist to work alongside the police commander. They can map the city and get a sense of crime predictability,” he says.
“[We were able to] understand that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights are the most violent, in addition to certain times. [We decided that] the majority of police officers do not have days off on those days. It is during these periods that the largest contingent is on the streets, and that’s why we had the safest year in the city’s history last year,” he exemplifies.
Data Analysis
Rio City Hall stated that New York’s main inspiration is CompStat, a tool created in the 1990s for strategic management based on data analysis and security indicators.
The new Municipal Security System (SSM) will have 22 priority monitoring areas. The goal is to map the main crime hotspots, hold weekly accountability meetings on results, analyze data, allocate personnel precisely by time and type of crime, focus on prevention, and ensure direct accountability for commanders.
Rio’s Urban Security Secretary, Breno Carnevale, said the main focuses of the Municipal Force will be combating thefts and robberies, crimes that, according to him, have the greatest impact on the daily lives of the population. The idea is for it to be a complementary force, without overlapping with the investigative duties of the Civil Police or the operations of the Military Police.
The agents will use body cameras, real-time GPS, and will be monitored directly from the City Hall Operations Center. Mayor Eduardo Paes says the differential of the Municipal Force will be operations based on planning, management by indicators, and quick strategy adjustments.
“There have been more than 500 hours of training, from theoretical to operational, and training on the operating system and body cameras. There was firearms shooting training, weapon drawing tests, in short, everything that is part of a police academy, so they can hit the streets more qualified,” says Carnevale.
One concern regarding the new force is the capacity for dialogue and effective joint action between municipal and state security forces, given the history of divergences between leaders of the two spheres of power.
“Integration with the Military Police and the State Security Secretariat is already underway. We will work together. Our forces have always worked in an integrated manner, regardless of the political environment. There is a serene agreement on this,” the mayor assures.
Since the vote that created the Municipal Force, the city hall’s new security model has faced criticism and resistance. Councilwomen Mônica Cunha (PSOL) and Maíra do MST (PT), for example, said that a new armed force on the streets will have the opposite effect, bringing more insecurity to the population. They argue that social groups like street vendors and teachers already suffer from violence by municipal guards and will be even more at risk.
Source: Agência Brasil