📲 Swipe to steal

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Crackdown on cell phone theft is Brazil’s latest security strategy

Public safety has emerged as the top concern for Brazilians in 2025, surpassing the economy, a new Quaest poll confirms. Nearly one-third of Brazilians cite crime as their most pressing worry, consolidating a trend we have seen over the past couple of years.

The growing anxiety may not always reflect reality, however. Social media algorithms, experts warn, can amplify perceptions of danger, even as some official crime indicators have improved. Yet several trends suggest that this widespread sense of insecurity is not entirely unfounded.

Since 2017, Brazil’s rate of violent deaths has steadily declined — with the exception of a spike in 2019. In 2024, the Justice Ministry recorded just under 39,000 violent deaths, the lowest figure since the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP) began tracking such data in 2011. While still sky-high by international standards, the number reflects a significant improvement.

But averages can obscure local realities. In the northeastern state of Ceará, for instance, homicides increased between 2023 and 2024. And many Brazilians, especially in São Paulo and other major cities, say they are more likely to encounter non-lethal crimes that affect their daily lives — particularly cell phone theft.

Leonardo Carvalho, a senior researcher at the FBSP, also recognizes that cases of cell phone theft have become more violent. He told The Brazilian Report that this may be a result of the weapons policy implemented by the Jair Bolsonaro government (2019-2022), since many legally purchased weapons end up in the hands of criminals. 

According to a survey by Datafolha, nearly one in 10 Brazilians had their phones stolen between July 2023 and June 2024 — an average of 1,680 devices per hour. In the time it takes you to read this newsletter, 252 cell phones will have been stolen in Brazil. Official police reports captured only a fraction of those incidents, with actual numbers believed to be over 14 times higher.

The risks associated with these thefts have grown in tandem with the expansion of digital banking and data storage. Criminals are increasingly targeting smartphones not just for their resale value, but for the personal and financial information they contain — making the devices a gateway to large-scale fraud.

Cybercrime is also surging. Reports of scams involving phishing, ransomware and bank fraud jumped 45% last year, according to the Association for the Defense of Personal and Consumer Data. Experts say the nature of property crime in Brazil is undergoing a dramatic shift: from street-level theft to complex digital operations — or hybrid crimes involving both.

The FBSP estimated that while domestic cocaine sales generate roughly BRL 15 billion (USD 2.7 billion) a year, organized crime may be raking in as much as BRL 186 billion annually through phone theft and digital crimes. The average loss per victim reaches BRL 1,702 in credit card scams — more than the minimum wage.

Lula’s public safety challenge

Public safety has long been a weak spot for the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration, which has struggled to present a coherent national strategy. While officials acknowledge the shortcomings of mass incarceration and poor police training, critics say the government has failed to convince voters of its urgency in addressing the crisis.

Right-wing politicians have seized the opportunity, reviving calls for harsher policing and judicial crackdowns. While such proposals have shown little long-term efficacy, they have proven electorally potent — bolstered in part by misleading portrayals of Lula’s own comments on crime.

Facing slumping approval ratings, the president has adopted a more forceful tone. In March, he made headlines by vowing not to allow “a republic of cell phone thieves to start scaring people on the streets of this country.”

Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski has already rolled out the Safe Cell Phone program, which streamlines crime reporting and remote data blocking. A new feature to be implemented soon will allow authorities to send messages to stolen devices, encouraging unsuspecting buyers to return them — a tactic that has shown promising results in the state of Piauí.

The administration is also preparing a suite of proposals to strengthen Brazil’s criminal justice system. One would expand the powers of the Federal Highway Police, create independent watchdogs for police oversight, and integrate fragmented state security databases into a cohesive national system.

“Security is perhaps the only area of the federal government without an integrated national system,” said Pablo Nunes, who coordinates the Center for Security and Citizenship Studies. “Each state does its own thing when it does anything at all. The police forces operate without coordination or shared guidelines.”

In a landmark decision last week, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Police must play a greater role in investigating criminal gangs operating in Rio de Janeiro. The justices ordered the creation of a dedicated federal task force and increased coordination with financial watchdogs.

Lewandowski has also submitted a draft bill to the president that would increase penalties for those involved in cell phone theft and receiving stolen goods, particularly within organized commercial networks — claiming this type of crime “is increasing the power of criminal organizations.” The proposal could mark a rare point of consensus between left- and right-wing lawmakers.

Still, some experts warn against reflexive tough-on-crime policies.

Pablo Nunes supports the administration’s focus on smartphone-related crimes but assesses that the government is still very timid in the field of public security. He also warns that harsher penalties alone are unlikely to curb the problem. Without real investment in tracing the command structures behind these crimes, the solutions risk falling into the trap of punitive populism. 

Carvalho, from the FBSP, agreed that increasing sentences cannot be the only answer. He suggested, for example, that the government invest in tracking devices to detect “receiving hotspots” and also in signing treaties for international cooperation against gangs that operate transnationally.

He acknowledged, however, that the lack of federal engagement in the public safety agenda is due in large part to the resistance of Congress and state governors to the current administration. "These are political obstacles that have cost the lives of Brazilians," he said. 

Other stories we’re following

⚽ The Federal Prosecution Office has opened a public consultation to gather proposals from citizens on how to combat racism in football. The suggestions will be presented later this month in a meeting with the CBF, Brazilian football’s governing body, and the Sports and Racial Equality Ministries.

👑 Prince William has announced that the 2025 Earthshot Prize ceremony will be held in Brazil. The annual award, which he launched to promote environmental innovation, is expected to take place shortly before the United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) in November, in the Amazonian state of Pará. A specific date has not yet been set.

📖 Brazil’s Basic Education Assessment System (SAEB) shows that just 49% of 7- and 8-year-old students were literate in 2023, below pre-pandemic levels of 55%. The findings contradict a more favorable set of data released earlier by the government. Officials defended the decision to highlight the more optimistic results, citing what they described as a superior methodology, but have faced criticism and accusations of a lack of transparency.

💊 Doctors who promoted Covid misinformation during the pandemic are now spreading false claims about cancer therapies, according to the fact-checking website Aos Fatos. Some appear to be using pseudoscientific content to build online followings and sell paid consultations and courses.