Over 50 Rio de Janeiro Police Arrested

Monday, 56 cops from Duque de Caxias were arrested for their involvement in the drug trade (Duque de Caxias is a part of greater Rio de Janeiro), providing yet another example in which the police are as much (if not moreso) a source of the violence in the favelas as the actual drug lords are. The media is (of course) swarming all over this story, but failing to provide any real analysis, instead relying on the straightforward "X-number cops charged with Y crimes" without asking why they would turn to such activities (despite the arrest of over 120 officers in Rio alone this year, it's just some "rogue" elements, instead of a broader issue of low pay, poverty, and power coming together).

I previously commented on my skepticism that any authorities in Rio (the city or the state) would ever really do anything important about this issue, yet once again, governor Sergio Cabral has come out, saying this will not stand and future cases will also be dealt with harshly. I'm still not sure that this is going to amount to much in the way of policy-change in how Rio uses its police in the favelas, but given that this arrest of 53 officers follows the arrest of another 70+ in January is at least giving some evidence that the government has the will to combat corruption and violence within the police force. Of course, it's still just rhetoric, and any real policy has yet to come out. Likewise, the efforts to curb police violence thus far have only involved those involved in the drug trade, or those committing such heinous violence that it can't go unnoticed (as was the case with the dismemberment of José Silva last week, or when it became clear in June that two cops unprovokedly punched an unarmed guy in the face and then shot him dead in February) - they haven't extended to punishment for the shooting of civilians in gun-battles in the favelas.

I still agree with one commenter on Globo's webpage, who said the problem is at the top of the police force, not the bottom, and that these arrests were just "For the English to see" ("pra inglês ver"). Still, if Cabral (or other leaders of the government) start implementing policy that affects change throughout the police force on top of these arrests, things may start changing here. I remain skeptical, but the picture is different than it was just 10 months ago.