UNODC Brazil’s Opportunities and Rights Programme delivers report on monitoring the use of police force

Brasília, 11 january 2023 –The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Brazil delivered, on 28 December, the final report of the technical cooperation with the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), under the Opportunities and Rights Programme (POD), linked to the Secretariat of Justice and Penal and Socio-Educational Systems (SJSPS). 

The document contains a balance of the various activities and actions developed in the field of monitoring the use of police force in the territories where POD is implemented, in the cities of Alvorada, Porto Alegre and Viamão. 

POD is a partnership between the RS government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and caters to young people aged 15-24 who live in areas of vulnerability and high crime rates. For this, the programme is structured in four components: prevention; citizen safety and police effectiveness; qualification of the socio-educational system; and institutional strengthening. 

In addition to a presentation on POD and the territories of implementation, the report addresses the methodology used by UNODC with the development of the Index of Police Activity Compliance (ICAP) and the monitoring and evaluation steps taken since 2015. There is also data on the results of the collection and analysis of criminal information and the use of police force. 

The coordinator of POD, Gabriela Lorenzet stressed the importance of this study "the police effectiveness component of the programme has always aimed at a citizen police culture, closer to the communities, and with the objective of training professionals and integrating the public safety bodies with the territories served", she said. 

The report highlights that POD contributed not only to enhance the control and reduction of intentional violent crimes and violent property crimes in the targeted localities, but also boosted the agenda of the integrity of the use of force in RS. By improving the quality of data and information on the subject from the ICAP, it was possible to set clearer parameters for addressing persistent police challenges. 

UNODC also presented a set of technical recommendations for processes and procedures of governance of the integrity of police activity from the ICAP and the actions undertaken by the organization, together with the state. 

Access the full report here 

Learn more about the Opportunities and Rights Programme 

Read more UNODC conducts research in the territories of the Programme Opportunities and Rights (POD) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul