The state of Pará has not recorded bank robberies in the 'new cangaço' modality for two years

The continuous public security actions developed by the state of Pará have been decisive for the decrease in violence rates and the dismantling of criminal groups. One of the results obtained with the strategies adopted by the integrated security forces is a 100% reduction in cases of bank robbery in the 'new cangaço' modality: Pará has not recorded this type of crime for two years. The data comes from the State Secretariat for Public Security and Social Defense (Segup), from the Undersecretariat of Intelligence and Criminal Analysis (Siac).

The reduction in the number of occurrences is historic when compared to the year 2018, when 19 cases were recorded. The last record of this type of crime was on September 8, 2023, in the city of Viseu, in northeastern Pará. The case was fully clarified and the members were arrested by the 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 two years, maintaining this mark 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 quicker response in investigations, leading to the clarification and arrest of those involved,” highlights the Secretary of State for Public Security and Social Defense, Ualame Machado.

According to the head of Segup, actions to inhibit this practice in the state are maintained, and there is a specific working group for monitoring activities, "even though we have had no records in Pará since 2023, we continue 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," said Ualame Machado.

"Our fundamental strategy is based on integration, combined with intelligence, and with this we are managing to keep Pará without any record of this type of modality, the result of our successful strategies to curb and inhibit this type of crime,” said Ualame Machado.

Planning and Strategic Actions

In seven years, the Government of Pará has invested in strengthening and restructuring the Delegacy for the Repression of Bank Robberies and Anti-Kidnapping, as well as in the creation of the Delegacy for the Repression of Criminal Factions (DRFC), linked to the Division for the Repression of Organized Crime (DRCO). Both Delegacies work on investigating and combating 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, in addition to encouraging qualification and targeted courses, especially for monitoring and training agents in cases of criminal practice.

In July of this year, the Civil Police of Pará, in partnership with the Secretariat of Public Security and Social Defense, along with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, held the 7th Edition of the Crisis Management Plan Course in Cities (CPGCSC). The course culminated in a technical simulation, where a situation of an attack on the base of the cash transport company “Prosegur” was reproduced, in the model known as “City Domination”. The action took place in the city of Castanhal and aimed to qualify police force professionals to act in high-complexity occurrences, such as those involving organized crime and simultaneous actions against financial institutions and cash transport.

Delegate Felipe Castro, director of the Delegacy for the Repression of Bank Robberies and Anti-Kidnapping, emphasized the importance of qualification and the actions developed by the delegacy to combat organized crime.

“We are completing two years without occurrences of crimes in the 'new cangaço' modality, which is the aggravated robbery committed against financial institutions, where heavily armed criminals besiege the city, take hostages to serve as human shields, and steal significant amounts of money from banks,” he detailed.

Felipe Castro emphasized that “now in October of the same year 2025, we will complete three years without occurrences of attacks against Armored Cars. This is due to the integrated action of the public security forces of the state, as well as the specialized action of the delegacy for the repression of bank robberies and kidnappings, in the investigation and clarification of cases that occurred and in the dismantling of gangs that attacked banks in Pará.”

"In addition, through investments made by the government of Pará, it was possible to equip and outfit specialized units for this type of confrontation, as well as to promote courses on the defense plan against city domination, which took place in Belém in July 2025, where, for a week, public security forces received instructions on how to act in occurrences of this modality, and on the last day, a city domination simulation was held in the municipality of Castanhal, showing society and the people of Pará how the police act and what the role of the population itself is in this type of crime,” commented the delegate.

Confrontation Committee

In February 2022, the state government established the Permanent Committee for Confronting Criminal Actions Against Banking Institutions and Cash Transport, formed by specialists from each security force, to develop strategies for combating and preventing crime throughout the Pará territory.

The early dismantling 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, which can assist the Public Security System by improving the understanding of the subject, and mainly in preventing 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.

New Cangaço

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 way of acting is also common in the Northeast, Southeast, and South regions of Brazil.