Alarming increase in deaths caused by PMs in São Paulo in this first quarter

In São Paulo, a report released by the Special Action Group for Public Security and External Control of Police Activity (Gaesp), of the Public Ministry of São Paulo, revealed an increase in the number of deaths caused by military police officers in the first quarter of 2024. Data reveal a worrying disparity, especially in Baixada Santista, where police lethality more than quintupled compared to the same period of the previous year.

Police lethality increased fivefold

According to Gaesp, deaths committed by military police in São Paulo grew by 69.8%, totaling 177 deaths in the first three months of this year, compared to the 116 recorded in the same period last year. This significant increase is even more evident in Baixada Santista, where 79 people lost their lives in military police actions between January and March 2024. In the same period in 2023, this number was just 15, representing an increase of more than five times .

Meanwhile, in the capital of São Paulo, there was an almost 20% drop in lethality in PM actions, with 49 deaths recorded in the first three months of 2024, compared to 61 in the same period of the previous year.

Operation Summer

Local authorities claim that the operations, especially Operation Verão in Baixada Santista, aim to combat organized crime in the region. However, the increasing number of deaths in police clashes raises questions about whether these actions are being carried out with respect for human rights.

_{Operation Summer in Baixada Santista (Photo: reproduction/Alexsander Ferraz/A Tribuna)}

In response to the concerns raised, the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat emphasized that all cases of deaths in confrontations are rigorously investigated by the Civil and Military Police, with monitoring by the respective internal affairs departments, the Public Ministry and the Judiciary. The secretariat also highlighted that deaths in confrontations are the result of criminals' violent reaction to police work.

Operation Verão, which began in December last year and is currently in its third phase, continues in progress in Baixada Santista, with no end date scheduled.

Featured Photo: São Paulo Military Police Vehicle (Photo: reproduction/Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil)