The president of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJ-RJ), judge Ricardo Rodrigues Cardozo, revoked on Saturday (16/12) the decision that prevented the apprehension of teenagers without flagrant crimes during Operation Summer, which reinforces policing on the city’s waterfront during the summer season. The decision was taken after an appeal from the state government and the city of Rio, alleging obstacles to crime prevention if the injunction were maintained. The topic once again gained notoriety after the wave of petty crimes committed by teenagers and kids, which are quickly released due to local laws, except if caught red handed.
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Justification
Cardozo stated, in his decision, that the injunction granted by judge Lysia Mesquita, from the 1st Court of Children, Youth and the Elderly, was granted without hearing representatives of the state and the municipality. He also claimed that the decision takes away from the authorities “assessment regarding the configuration of a situation of vulnerability or social risk”. The president of the TJ-RJ also considered that cases of referral of adolescents to a host institution do not violate their right to come and go.
Injunction
On Friday (15), the Rio de Janeiro Court prohibited the apprehension of teenagers who are not caught committing some type of crime or offense during Operation Summer. The decision was taken after a request from the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro in the public civil action that asks that there be no excesses committed during Operation Summer nor that there be discrimination against young people.
According to the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA), young people cannot be apprehended without being caught red handed or having a warrant issued against them. In the prosecutor’s petition, there are reports of teenagers who were apprehended and taken to social assistance centers.
What the Prosecutor Says
The Prosecutor’s Office states that, in the first weekend of December alone, more than 40 teenagers were sent to the Specialized Reference Center for Social Assistance (Crea) in Tijuca, North Zone.
As for Central Carioca, a reception institution in the center of Rio, 89 young people were taken by Operation Summer agents in just six days. For the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in only one of the cases there was a reason to arrest the teenager. The absolute majority were not eligible for institutional care. These were adolescents with no reported drug use or homelessness. They did not denote a vulnerable situation, on the contrary, they reported being in a moment of leisure and access to the city. The Prosecutor’s Office also highlighted the racial issue in the arrests of teenagers without detection.
Operation Summer
Operation Summer is a partnership between the state government and Rio’s city hall. It began in September and aims to reinforce policing on the city’s beaches, both with police officers and municipal guards.
Despite having been in force for three months, the operation was unable to prevent the wave of insecurity that took hold in Copacabana, South Zone. In less than a month, there were cases such as the businessman attacked while trying to prevent a robbery and the death of a fan of singer Taylor Swift during a robbery on the beach.
Reports of robberies with physical attacks in the tourist neighborhood have been frequent, although security indicators are at a lower level than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
