Niterói reurbanization program will start in Morro do Estado and Vila Ipiranga

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The recently announced Vida Nova no Morro program, scheduled to start in 2026, is one of the programs with this characteristic. According to the city hall, around 800 million reais will be invested to completely redevelop the landscape of the communities. Morro do Estado and Vila Ipiranga will be the first places to receive the project.

The figures show the effectiveness of this two-way strategy. Between 2018 and 2024, according to data from the Institute of Public Security (ISP), the municipality recorded significant declines in all major crime indicators: violent mortality decreased by 78.5%, street thefts decreased by 83.3%, vehicle thefts decreased by 84.7% and collective thefts fell by 86.7%.

— There is no contradiction between the merciless fight against organized crime and the planning of coordinated strategies and actions to prevent violence and ensure more effective public security — said Rodrigo Neves during the debate on Caminhos de Niterói.

Created in 2018, the Niterói Pact against Violence is the program that structures and finances the municipality’s social policies aimed at preventing crime and promoting a culture of peace. With a budget of 820 million reais, the program combines the pillars of overt security and preventive social actions, financing both the police apparatus and training and sports courses for 50,000 young people. The Acolher Network represents another aspect of the prevention strategy: the reintegration of ex-prisoners.

The Jovem Eco Social program illustrates this strategy. Aimed at young people aged 16 to 24 in vulnerable situations, the initiative offers technical training, environmental education and the development of professional and social skills. The objectives are to increase employability and promote a more sustainable city. Currently, 1,500 young people are served and receive R$780 per month during training.

Poupança Escola, in turn, acts as a direct incentive to stay and complete their studies. The program offers financial incentives to public school students in vulnerable situations: R$1,200 at the end of the 9th year of primary school and R$800 at the end of the 3rd year of secondary school. The common thread of the initiative, in which 9,600 students participate, is the recognition that dropping out of school is one of the main risk factors for involvement in crime.

As part of this set of measures, the Musical Apprentice program, which has existed for 24 years and has been expanded in recent years, currently serves more than ten thousand students in all municipal primary schools and in three continuing education centers. Music as a tool for inclusion and personal development has proven particularly effective in building future prospects for children and adolescents.

— We have decided to fight against youth crime, to fight for every boy, for every young man. Providing the opportunity to dream, to build a new trajectory for each of these young people is, without a doubt, one of the most important instruments to prevent violence — underlined Rodrigo during the International Forum on Public Security in Latin America, a meeting that preceded the discussions of the 30th Mercocities Summit.

Another bet of the City Hall is the University Rent program, which aims to help seven thousand young university students with an allowance of R$700 per month and which will begin to come into force in the first semester of next year. The intention of the town hall is to guarantee university permanence and to promote housing in the central area of ​​the city.

At the Caminhos de Niterói meeting, the Colombian Hugo Acero, one of the main names in citizen security in Latin America and former Secretary of Security of Bogotá, adopted an approach in the same direction defended by the public authorities of Niterói.