Facts that have contributed to urban violence in Brazil Research Paper

Facts that have contributed to urban violence in Brazil - Research Paper Example According to Graham, â€Å"In 2012, 94 police officers have been killed in the city — twice as many as in all of 2011.† Graham also states that â€Å"Between July and September, on-duty police officers killed 119 people in the metropolitan area.† These killings are related to crime and the statistics portray a gloomy picture about the real crime stories obtaining in the Latin American cities. The main problem is that the rate of poverty is high in urban areas that are neglected by the government. Apparently, the organized crime groups as well as the poorly paid members of the police force stay in these areas. The poor police officers living in such areas end up being targets of organized crime groups though they are also suffering and living in abject poverty like anyone else living in the area. The poor urban areas in Brazil are home to thousands of immigrants and the situation has been compounded by the proliferation of gangs who deal in drugs (Graham). It is q uite difficult for the police officers to execute their duties since they are even scared of exposing their identity for fear of being victimized or even killed by the members of the organized crime gangs. Unfortunately, some police officers have become members of the crime gang syndicates as they try to supplement their meager earnings as well as to solicit for protection from the terror gangs so that they are not attacked as well as their families. On the other hand, it can be noted that Roberto Bricano Leon, Andres Villavecas & Alberto Concha Eastman posit to the effect that Brazil reports the highest rates of homicide as a result of the fact that it has a high proportion of urban population and high rate of poverty. The researchers also note that â€Å"the factors related to violence include social inequalities, lack of employment opportunities, urban segregation, a culture of masculinity, local drug markets, and the availability of firearms and widespread use of alcohol.† This situation is compounded by inefficient judicial system especially in Brazil given that it fosters impunity. People can wantonly commit heinous crimes like murder but they can still get away with it. At least, if there were effective judicial systems in this country, the situation was likely to be under control. The study also notes that the majority of young males aged between 15 and 24 years especially in Brazil are the most perpetrators of violence and they are also the prime targets. The main cause of this undesirable trend is related to high unemployment rates which significantly contribute to high levels of poverty. Unfortunately, the government is doing very little in order to address the socio-economic factors that lead to crime such as unemployment. Most people resort to drug abuse and this causes them to indulge in serious crimes that have often resulted in loss of life. Murray Joseph, Daniel Ricardo de Castro & Khan Tulio state that â€Å"between 1980 and 2010 ther e were 1 million homicides in Brazil. Dramatic increases in homicide rates followed rises in inequality, more young men in the population, greater availability of firearms, and increased drug use.† The most important aspect portrayed the authors of this study is that Brazil has the fifth largest population in the world: 197 million people according to the (World Bank 2012b). Apparently, 30% of whom are under age 18 as reported by Unicef 2012. With a gross national income of about (US$ 11,500 per capita in 2011,World Bank 2012b), Brazil continues to have one of the highest rates of inequality in the world. Reaserach has also shown that about 10.9% of the nation's population live in poor conditions of less than $2 per day and the youths are most impacted. Research