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Brazil's Risky Bet on Tech to Fight Crime

By Robert Muggah, Pedro Augusto Pereira

From drones to facial recognition, police across the region are adopting digital tools. But some worry about abuse

RIO DE JANEIRO - Rio de Janeiro’s ultra-conservative governor, Wilson Witzel, was elected in 2018 on a tough-on-crime ticket. Like his erstwhile ally, President Bolsonaro, who vowed to let criminals "die in the street like cockroaches", Witzel promised to “slaughter” and “dig graves” for anyone getting in the way of his crime fighting agenda. Since Witzel took office urging the police to use more forceful tactics, overall crime is down...

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