The experience of the city of Diadema, located 17 kilometers from downtown São Paulo, in reducing its indices of crime will be presented at the 11th Congress of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Program, which will be held from April 18 to 25 in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to the municipal press office, Diadema was the only Latin American city selected for presentation as a model case, for its actions to combat violence.
The campaign undertaken in Diadema will be presented by Mayor José de Filippi Junior, from the Workers’ Party, in a workshop for 250 leaders from various countries.
According to the Diadema municipal press office, the city, which has 383 thousand inhabitants, registered 102.82 homicides for every 100 thousand inhabitants in 1999, that is, one murder per day. This proportion was down to 65.79 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants in 2001, and last year it dropped to 34.58 (68% less).
The reduction in this index is the result of the city’s crime prevention programs. Diadema was, for example, the first city to implant the disarmament program with the participation of civil society organizations.
1,212 weapons have been turned in to the police since August, 2004. Diadema has also been investing in teaching children to disarm. The three annual campaigns have collected 12 thousand play weapons.
There was also a mapping of the places with the greatest incidence of crimes of all types, and, based on this study, 26 cameras of the latest generation were imported from Canada and installed in strategic spots.
The map also indicated that 60% of the incidents occurred between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. This resulted in a law, in effect since July 15, 2002, ordering the closing of bars between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Agência Brasil
