Espírito Santo ended the first quarter of 2024 with the lowest number of homicides recorded for the period since 1996, according to the State Secretariat of Public Security (Sesp).
In January, February and March, combined, there were 227 murders, compared to 281 in the same period last year. In total, the accumulated reduction compared to 2023 reaches 19.2% so far.
In the 28-year historical series, the best result for a quarter had been in 2022, when the State reached 252 homicides in the period. All regions of Espírito Santo show a reduction in murders. The falls are 16.8% in the Metropolitan Region, 15.5% in the north, 10.3% in the south, 36.7% in the northwest and 14.3% in the mountain region.
Governor Renato Casagrande highlighted the importance of investments in the area of public security and praised the motivation of Espírito Santo police officers, especially those involved in qualified arrests of leaders of criminal organizations.
“Our work to reduce the number of crimes against life is ongoing. And we have managed, month after month, year after year, to achieve a reduction in homicides. As long as a person loses their life, we cannot celebrate, but we have to value our reduction work, which has had an effect since the Estado Presente program returned in 2019. And this work goes through our security forces. See how important it was arrest of the “Sailor”, removing such a dangerous person from society. And achieving achievements like these requires having an organized Government, valued, well-structured professionals, with reference equipment in the country and motivated to achieve increasingly better results”, stated the governor.
The Secretary of State for Public Security and Social Defense, Eugênio Ricas, also highlighted the work within the Estado Presente em Defesa da Vida program, with qualified prisons being carried out as one of the main pillars.
“The main leaders of criminal organizations were put in jail. This dismantles organized crime and disputes over drug trafficking territory. An example of this is the municipality of Vitória, which saw an increase in deaths and, with focused work and the removal of bandits who ordered attacks from circulation, closed the month of March with just one homicide recorded. We just have to thank all our police officers for the beautiful work carried out, within the police axis of the Estado Presente program”.
Fewer dead women
Other data that showed a reduction are homicides of women and femicides. In total, there were 21 murders of women in 2024, of which eight were caused by gender-based crimes. Last year, the first quarter recorded 25 deaths of women, ten of which were femicides.
The reduction reaches 16% in total. Eugênio Ricas highlighted all the work and investments made by the Government to provide more security and alternative protection for women victims of domestic violence.
“This women’s month we launched our Marias rooms, which will help to humanize and speed up the care of these victims in our 24-hour police stations in Greater Vitória. Before, the displacement was large for the specialized unit that centralized these incidents in Vitória. Now, the woman will be able to receive care in her own municipality and without any type of contact with the aggressor. It is another action, in addition to all the ones we have previously launched, strengthening the protection network for women”.
