Rio de Janeiro: 60,000 Unsolved Murders In 10 Years

[Trina Demario]

Rio de Janeiro: 60,000 Unsolved Murders In 10 Years



07/10/11 03:07 PM ET   AP

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rio de Janeiro's public defenders' department says the Brazilian state has accumulated more than 60,000 unsolved murders in the last 10 years.

The department investigated the matter for the federal Ministry of Justice as part of a national plan to improve public safety.

The survey shows that 24,000 of the victims haven't even been identified.

Creation of a special homicide division in the city of Rio de Janeiro did little to improved the solution rate. It went from 11 percent to 14 percent.

Across Brazil, police solve about 8 percent of murders. In the United States and in European countries the rates are reportedly around 70 percent to 80 percent.

[Trina Demario]

The truth is Rio, once you leave the tourist district, is dangerous. From the beaches, you can see the favelas on the sides of the mountains. A favela is basically a ghetto on steroids, rife with gangs armed to the teeth. A lot of places in the favelas remain untouched by the cops. And when the police do come in, it's usually a search and destroy mission. They don't get paid much, and they make a lot of enemies by shaking down drug dealers, which in turn creates a lot of violence.

Just a word of advice:If you ever go to Rio, you can enjoy the beaches and the restaurant­s in the tourist district. But don't EVER wander away.

[Trina Demario]

Another stat I read a few years back, Brazil has 3 % of the world's population yet 11% of the world's homicides.

[Volitzer]

Makes you wish Simon Bolivar was more successful in creating a United States of South America.

They got their territories/nations but never did get the idea of Federalism.