Pacification Police Units in Rio de Janeiro
Axios
Effectiveness

Mixed Evidence

.

.

.

.

.

Mixed Evidence

Want to know more about this classification? Check out our methodological manual.

Life periods served
Where the program was applied
Country of application
Description

This is a Public Safety program that was implemented by the Rio de Janeiro State Government in 2014, in preparation for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. A total of 38 Pacification Police Units (UPPs, for their acronym in Portuguese) were installed, including nearly 10,000 police officers and covering approximately 264 territories with a total of 700,000 inhabitants.
The implementation process involved the selection and training of police officers, intelligence planning, and territorial intervention. The territorial intervention was carried out for 3 months by elite troops. The objective was to stabilize the territory by carrying out punctual operations and establishing links with the communities. Following this process, the Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) was inaugurated.
In the initial model, the police did not use rifles, and at least half of the force did not respond to emergency calls. Police work focused on planning and executing outreach activities, with sports and educational workshops with the youth of the communities, in addition to developing police work, preferably on foot.
As of 2018, the program faces sustainability problems, as armed conflicts in the communities have increased again, and there have also been financial problems to maintain the program, so the state government started to destructure it.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation found that UPPs had mixed results. The evaluation found no significant impact of UPPs on reducing homicides among community residents (small impact, close to zero). However, the same study noted that the program had a strong impact on reducing deaths due to police intervention in those areas. The results of the study point to a reduction of 29 police-involved deaths (per 100,000 inhabitants per year) in the intervention areas compared to the comparison group areas. The authors also estimate that, without UPPs, police-caused death rates per 100,000 inhabitants would be 60% higher than the observed records. Police-caused death rates for black males fell from more than 25 to less than 7 per 100,000 inhabitants from 2007 to 2013 [1].
Five years later, this study was updated (with data collected between 2005 and 2015, and with 164 favelas contemplated in the treatment group) and republished with its new findings. According to the authors, in about 60% of the territories where the intervention was carried out, the UPPs managed to reduce common crimes, such as homicides, extortions, and robberies, and to achieve community acceptance. However, the UPPs deteriorated public security in 40% of the territories where they were implemented, where they also failed to gain legitimacy. Furthermore, the size of the effect of UPPs on police-caused deaths was estimated at -1.13, which means a reduction of 1.3 police homicides per 100,000 inhabitants per month. These estimates suggest an annual reduction of about 133 killings, which would represent a roughly 40% reduction in the number of police-caused homicides thanks to the UPPs [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Magaloni, B., Franco, E. & Melo, V. (2015). Killing in the Slums: An Impact Evaluation of Police Reform in Rio de Janeiro (Working Papers núm. 556). Stanford, CA. Stanford Center for International Development. https://kingcenter.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj16611/files/media/f…

[2] Magaloni, B., Franco, E. & Melo, V. (2020). Killing in the Slums: Social Order, Criminal Governance, and Police Violence in Rio de Janeiro. American Political Science Review, 114(2). http://bmagaloni.com/storage/uploads/publications/APSR_Killing.final_01…

Information source