Pablo Sartori, undersecretary for intelligence of the Rio Security Secretariat, says the consolidation of Comando Vermelho (CV) dominance in Greater Jacarepaguá is the main factor in the increase in thefts in the region, as shown in the second edition of the Crime Map, GLOBO’s interactive tool launched this week. According to Sartori, cell phone stores located in favelas began operating to serve the illegal cell phone market after the invasion of drug trafficking.
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Greater Jacarepaguá is the most common area for theft in Rio. For what?
This phenomenon is linked to the evolution of the criminal scene in the region. Before, the monopoly belonged to the militias, who earned money through the internal exploitation of the community: water, gas, internet. The militias avoided selling drugs in their communities and did not allow robberies in surrounding areas to avoid exposure. Today, the CV has consolidated its control over the majority of local communities. And the way drug traffickers operate is different: they authorize and stop thefts based on the pressure they are under at the time.
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Is this CV expansion movement already impacting the increase in robberies in other areas?
Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes are also affected. Many gangs steal from these neighborhoods and take refuge in the favelas of Greater Jacarepaguá, now under the control of the CV. Another factor that ultimately influenced the increase in thefts in these neighborhoods was the co-optation of traders who operated legally in these communities by the illegal market. Gardênia Azul had many cell phone stores that did not work with products stolen when the militias dominated the region, because no one came to offer cell phones that did not come from there. Today, with traffic, this limitation no longer exists.
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How does the secretariat intend to contain the expansion of the CV?
This is a situation for which there is no simple solution. In October, we conducted a direct confrontation at the faction HQ, Complexo do Alemão. But we know that this is not enough, we must take back these territories in a more incisive way. The state, the municipality and the federal government are already discussing this. Let’s not repeat the Pacification Police Units (PPU), but take what worked. Some communities are designed to function as tests. Not only will the police be involved, but also the state, the private sector, sanitation plans and town planning.
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What is the crime map?
What are the most dangerous neighborhoods in Rio and Niterói? Where have the thefts progressed? When is the least safe time to walk in your neighborhood? To help answer these questions and understand the dynamics of violence in these cities, GLOBO developed the Crime Map, an interactive theft monitoring tool with unprecedented crime data by neighborhood.
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After launching the first edition in the middle of this year, with data from 2024 referring to the city of Rio, we are now publishing the second edition of the platform, based on data referring to the first half of 2025, with information on four different crimes — cell phone thefts, thefts from passers-by, vehicle thefts and collective thefts — in 147 different neighborhoods of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, in addition to 51 neighborhoods of Niterói.
The tool was created using microdata obtained via the Access to Information Act from the Institute of Public Security (ISP). The body, responsible for compiling security statistics in the state, publishes monthly indicators divided by battalion and police station areas, which in most cases cover several neighborhoods. Seeking to understand hyperlocal criminal dynamics, GLOBO requested more precise data on the location of crimes and received information on the neighborhoods where each incident was recorded, the smallest territorial unit made available by the ISP. This is the first time crime indicators in Rio have been published with this level of detail.
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