During a visit to Rio de Janeiro this Thursday (26), the head of the New York City Police Department, Michael J. LiPetri, advocated for intensive use of remote monitoring and data science as the foundation for addressing public security issues. 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 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Technology Center in Support of Public Security (CIVITAS Rio), where he exchanged experiences with Mayor Eduardo Paes.
“In New York, we prioritize putting the best data scientist to work alongside the police commander. They can map the city and gain a sense of crime predictability,” he says.
“[It was possible to] understand that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights are the most violent, along with certain times. [We decided that] most police officers do not get days off on those days. It’s 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 the main inspiration from New York 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 expectation is to map the main crime hotspots, hold weekly accountability meetings, analyze data, precisely allocate personnel by time and type of crime, focus on prevention, and hold commanders directly accountable.
Rio’s Urban Security Secretary, Breno Carnevale, said the Municipal Force’s main focuses will be combating thefts and robberies, crimes that, according to him, have the greatest impact on the population’s daily lives. The idea is for it to be a complementary force, without overlapping with the Civil Police’s investigative duties or the Military Police’s operations.
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 Municipal Force’s differential will be operations based on planning, management by indicators, and quick strategy adjustments.
“There were over 500 hours of training, from the theoretical part, the operational part, and the operating system training, body cameras. There was firearms shooting, holster draw tests, in short, everything that’s 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 disagreements 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 integrated, regardless of the political environment. There is a serene agreement on this,” the mayor assures.
Since the vote to create 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 say 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