Pará has not recorded bank robberies in the 'new cangaço' modality for a year and ten months

In Pará, continuous public safety actions are decisive for the decrease in violence rates and the disbandment of criminal groups. One of the results obtained with the strategies adopted by the security forces is a 100% reduction in cases of bank robbery in the 'new cangaço' modality, in which the State maintains stability in the numbers, not recording any cases of this type for a year and ten months. The data was presented by the State Secretariat for Public Security and Social Defense (Segup), through the Undersecretariat of Intelligence and Criminal Analysis (Siac).

The reduction in the number of occurrences is considerable compared to the year 2018, when 19 cases were recorded. The last crime in this modality occurred on September 8, 2023, in the city of Viseu, northeastern Pará. The case was fully clarified and the members were arrested by integrated police teams.

The practice of bank robbery in the 'new cangaço' modality is still recorded in other states of Brazil. Pará continues to show not only a reduction but has not recorded occurrences for more than a year, maintaining this stability consecutively. The numbers released are the result of integrated work, combined with continuous investments in high-tech equipment, support for security agents, and the exchange of information between intelligence agencies, which results in a swift response in investigations, emphasizes the State Secretary for Public Security and Social Defense, Ualame Machado.

According to him, "even though we have not had any records since 2023, we maintain our investigative actions, including with the help of a committee established for this purpose, which meets to define and align strategies with the aim of continuing to act in prevention, as we know it is the best way to combat this type of criminal practice. Our fundamental strategy is based on integration, combined with intelligence, and with this, we are managing to keep Pará without any records of this type of modality, which shows that our strategies to curb and inhibit this type of crime have been effective."

Strategies - In seven years, the Government of Pará has invested in strengthening and restructuring the Delegacy for the Suppression of Bank Robberies and Anti-Kidnapping, as well as in the creation of the Delegacy for the Suppression of Criminal Factions (DRFC), linked to the Division for the Suppression of Organized Crime (DRCO). All work on the investigation and combat of this type of occurrence, and on the investigation and arrests of those involved.

The integration of security forces is another essential point for the success of police teams, which work preventively and overtly in cases.

Committee - In February 2022, the State established the Permanent Committee for Combating Criminal Actions Against Banking Institutions and Value Transport, formed by specialists from each security force, to develop strategies for combating and preventing crime throughout Pará.

The early disbandment of actions and the execution of arrest warrants issued against members of criminal groups are among the measures that public security has been adopting to combat this type of crime, highlights the Deputy Secretary of Intelligence and Criminal Analysis, Delegate André Costa.

"We act in the prevention of this type of crime, and through the Committee, intelligence strategies and various fronts of action are deliberated, planned, and carried out in the acquisition axis, such as armored vehicles, firearms for precision shooters, night vision goggles, and tactical drones, as well as innovation in communication and technology, in addition to confrontation, containment, and activation plans. Everything is built by the Committee and the specialists who are part of it, within their attributions, in which they can assist the Public Security System by improving the understanding of the subject, and mainly in the prevention of bank robberies in Pará. The Civil Police itself, together with the Ministry of Justice, is conducting a course focused on this theme, proposing a meeting between professionals in the area, precisely to further enhance knowledge and articulate strategies to keep this criminal practice away from our State,” informs the head of Siac.

Bank robbery in the vapor modality, new cangaço, or city domination is characterized by the violence of criminal groups that arrive in a municipality heavily armed, dominating the population and public security forces, and attacking institutions. The term was used in Pará in the early 2000s, but the method of operation is also common in the Northeast, Southeast, and South regions of Brazil.