Mobilising prevention in the States of São Paulo and Minas Gerais (Brazil) 

With 645 municipalities and nearly 40 million residents – the equivalent of the population in Spain - the State of São Paulo is the most populated region in Brazil. Known as “the driving force of Brazil”, the Federal State is the most important industrial centre of the sub-continent and accounts for 60% of the GDP alone. Yet striking inequalities, illiteracy, unemployment for the majority of the population and corruption among certain elites have encouraged the development of extreme violence over the years. This includes organized crime which has come to impact all social milieux and has been accompanied by troubling developments in policing and private justice. Between 1994 and 2004, 120,000 people were murdered in the State. 

To respond to this alarming situation, which seriously endangers local democracy, many initiatives were launched at the end of the 1990's, and have begun to bear fruit. The implementation of prevention policies, local partnerships, and the creation of forums for exchange on safety issues are among the initiatives which have contributed to reducing the level of violence. For the past ten years, the Institute “São Paulo contra a violência” (ISPCV) (http://www.spcv.org.br/), chaired by Mr. Eduardo Capobianco and directed by Mr. Jose Roberto Bellintani, has been supporting the development of policies, programmes and innovative action to control and reduce crime and violence in the region. The objectives of this NGO are to improve public security, criminal justice, and the penitentiary system, but also to supervise the development of social and urban action plans. The Institute collaborates closely with governmental institutions, local authorities, other NGOs, business associations and universities. The Institute also organizes training sessions, the most recent one being focused on “the local management of crime prevention policies and programmes”. 

Among the various projects developed by the Institute, the “Disque-Denúncia” is a telephone service which enables citizens to provide information anonymously on any form of crime or violence they have witnessed or experienced. The service, which currently covers Grand São Paulo and Jacareí receives more than 1,500 calls everyday, but will soon be extended to other municipalities of the state. Another important project launched by the ISPCV is the “Forum Metropolitano para a Segurança Pública” which brings together 39 municipalities of Grand São Paulo interested in violence prevention and its reduction. This forum enables mayors to work together to find solutions to security problems, and create their own municipal safety secretariats within cities, for example, as has been the case in five municipalities so far. The Forum has contributed to the 26% reduction in the homicide rate in the large metropolis in a period of only four years. 

A further initiative is the National Public Safety Forum which will be launched very soon. The Forum aims to respond to the need for a place for consultation on prevention and security issues between those involved in prevention and security – such as the police and universities - and encourage the dissemination of better information and knowledge which at present is considered “too weak” according to Mr. Jose Marcelo Zacchi who has initiated this project.

Over the next five years, the Forum will be funded by the Ford Foundation.The “Forum em Defesa da Vida” (Web site under construction) is an important popular movement composed of nearly 45 organizations from the southern region of the State of São Paulo. It was created in 1996 to respond to crime which had been on the rise since the eighties. Associations, churches, schools and citizens meet each month to discuss current issues, propose solutions, or make proposals which aim to influence public policies or promote the implementation of civil rights on violence prevention. The forum also organizes ‘walks for peace’ in the region. 

The Institute “Sou da Paz” was created in 1999 in São Paulo. It contributes to the implementation of public policies in safety and violence prevention, and promoting democracy, social justice and human rights, through the mobilization of civil society and the state, and through the dissemination of innovative practices in the region. The Institute implements projects in partnership with local community organizations and with the involvement of youth, such as the “Promotion of the Citizenship” project which trains youth for democratic participation and helps them to find peaceful alternatives for the resolution of conflicts. Several “Justice and Public Safety” projects are based on partnerships between the police, justice and the prison system for the implementation of new programmes in the area of community policing, access to justice, conflict resolution or social rehabilitation of former prisoners. The Institute has a staff of 60, a dozen volunteers, as well as an Advisory Committee of seventeen civil society representatives. 

Although public safety is considered the responsibility of the military police in the federated States in Brazil, a number of municipalities have not remained passive and have chosen to focus their attention on local prevention policies. The initiatives undertaken by the cities of Guarulhos (http://www.guarulhos.sp.gov.br/) and Diadema (http://www.diadema.sp.gov.br/) are outstanding in this respect.Finally, the Secretariat of Public Safety of the State of São Paulo has decided that it must focus on the serious phenomenon of violence which affects the State as a whole.

The Secretariat has set up an Observatory on Public Safety, as well as “Community Safety Councils” in neighbourhoods, in order to improve relationships between the police in the State of São Paulo and the community, develop educational prevention campaigns, and strengthen co-operative links between various local institutions.

In the State of Minas Gerais, CRISP (Centre of Studies on Crime and Public Safety), directed by Claudio Beato, maintains close links with a number of Brazilian authorities. The Centre offers training sessions, mainly for police officers, university courses, and undertakes research on various aspects of public safety and security. The Centre works with some thirty collaborators. 

During her visit to Brazil in the beginning of April, Valérie Sagant, Director General of the ICPC, had the opportunity to meet with directors and officers responsible for various programmes, and representatives of institutions or municipalities with whom the ICPC intends to continue its relations.

In addition to these initiatives, many other prevention projects are being undertaken by NGOs, cities, or universities in these regions.