Brazil Police Killings Rose in 2025 Across 17 States

Overview

• Police lethality has climbed 170% over the past decade, with 2025 totals led by Bahia (1,569 deaths), São Paulo (835) and Rio de Janeiro (798).
• Per capita, the highest 2025 rates were in Amapá (17.11 per 100,000), Bahia (10.55) and Pará (7.28).
• Rondônia saw the sharpest jump, rising from 8 deaths in 2024 to 47 in 2025, prompting the state prosecutor’s office to create a special group as a prosecutor linked the surge to faction clashes and intensified policing.
• Human Rights Watch reported 5,920 people killed by police from January to November 2025 and said Black Brazilians faced three-and-a-half times the risk, citing violent tactics such as the Rio megaoperation that left more than 120 dead in October.
• In contrast, 185 security agents were killed in 2025, an 8% drop from 2024, and police suicides fell 13% to 131, with Rio de Janeiro accounting for 77 agent deaths, about 42% of the total.