A Public Security Policy Based on Facts, Not Wishful Thinking

Public security should be a main issue in the coming campaign for president of Brazil, which has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. But the debates around security should be anchored in facts and evidence, not wishful thinking. Members of the so-called “bullet caucus” in Congress –many of whom will presumably run for reelection– are pushing bills that would only make matters worse. Many in Congress claim that harsher sentences will deter crime. But lengthening the time people spend in Brazil´s severely overcrowded violent prisons would be a Godsend for criminal gangs. Those gangs have…

© Human Rights Watch - mercredi 7 février 2018