International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2020 | Page 92

The Brazilian Army in the Fight Against Crime
Federal Intervention in Rio de Janeiro—A Special Case
At the beginning of 2018, the crime rate in the state and city of Rio de Janeiro
reached an absolutely critical level, leading to the implementation of a
direct federal intervention. Contrary to reports in the international press,
this was neither a military intervention in the strict sense, nor a “classic” GLO
operation. Rather, the President of the Republic charged General Braga Netto with
the on-the-ground management of the Federal Intervention Bureau (FIB)—an
organization created for the occasion—and with organizing it around two main
axes: supporting the operational reorganization of Rio de Janeiro state’s security
forces, and increasing the population’s sense of security. The latter was achieved
by re-establishing order in the streets, which had become seriously compromised.
To accomplish this, the FIB relied primarily on the armed forces on the ground.
Under normal circumstances, the period of federal intervention should end
on December 31, 2018, when control of public security in the state will return to
the state governor. According to a recent survey, 3 66 percent of the population
of the city of Rio de Janeiro confirmed their support for the FIB’s actions, which
appear to be beginning to take effect if we compare the crime figures with those
for the same period in 2017: a reduction of 15 percent in car thefts, of 16 percent
in street robberies, of 20 percent in freight thefts, and so on. 4 Nevertheless, despite
these encouraging statistics, the challenges are still far from being overcome, and
only a comprehensive approach to the problem of public security can solve the
problems in Rio de Janeiro.
Operations in Border Areas
One element of the Brazilian Army’s duties with regard to public security
concerns border areas—a permanent mission that does not require a presidential
decree as in the case of GLO operations. The Complementary Law
to the Constitution n° 136 of August 25, 2010, assigns these duties to the armed
forces:
In addition to their usual duties, the armed forces are also responsible,
as subsidiary forces, and as befits the exclusive competences
of the judicial police, for preventative and repressive actions at land
and maritime borders, and in territorial waters, and, whatever the
rights of detention or property, or the objectives or charges of the
potential offenders, against cross-border and environmental of-
3 http://www.eb.mil.br/web/noticias/noticiario-do-exercito/-/asset_publisher/MjaG93KcunQI/con
tent/operacao-sao-cristovao-exercito-apresenta-os-resultados-apos-normalizar-servicos-a-popu
lacao-
4 http://arquivos.proderj.rj.gov.br/isp_imagens/uploads/infograficoroubodecarga.pdf
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