International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2020 | Page 138

The Economic Costs of Crime in Brazil
禁成本 ) 、受害者的附加成本、以及相关的不同社会成本 ,
例如投资率下降和失业率升高。
根据出版物 “2017 暴力集 ”(Atlas da Violência 2017)
,2017 年巴西恐怖袭击总数量比任意三周时间内的谋杀案数量少 :2017 年 3,314 次死亡事件与恐怖主义相关 , 而每三周时间就有 3400 次谋杀。
关键词 : 巴西 , 成本 , 暴力 , 犯罪 , 他杀
Brazil has been in the grip of a major public safety crisis for years. After a long
period of military rule, during which the public was stripped of even the
most basic protections, in 1988 the country once again became democratic
and adopted a new constitution. This “Citizen Constitution” has led to undeniable
social progress and greater protection for individuals. However, it was also the
product of a period of transition between several different regimes, and the army's
influence can be seen in several areas. For example, public safety is defined vaguely
in the constitution, under a single, fairly general article.
The Brazilian public safety model is unique, with two police forces in each
Federal State: the “military” police, who work in the field, and the “civil” police,
who focus on investigations and legal matters. Neither can complete a full investigation
without the other, but there is little communication between them. This
model is a ticking time bomb, and the effects are becoming ever clearer over the
years, with a combination of extremely high homicide rates and laughably low
clearance rates.
As it undergoes one of the worst economic crises in its history, Brazil is
plagued by two, directly connected problems: economic recession and unemployment.
Several federal states have had to take on increased debt, and some, like Rio
de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul have gone well beyond their legal
debt limits. There is simply no money to pay salaries or normal expenses, especially
when it comes to public safety.
The report Análise dos custos e conseqüências da violência no Brasil 1 published
by the IPEA (Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, or Brazilian Institute
of Applied Economic Research) draws several interesting conclusions from
this situation. 1 According to Bourguignon and Morrison (2000), it is important to
keep in mind three goals when evaluating the social costs of crime and violence:
1 Daniel Cerqueira, et al. Análise dos custos e conseqüências da violência no Brasil (Brasília: Institute
of Applied Economic Research, 2007). Available at: http://www.ipea.gov.br/portal/images/stories/
PDFs/TDs/td_1284.pdf
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