Rio de Janeiro Police Bill Sparks Outcry Over Incentives for Shootings and Weakened Forensics

Human Rights Watch Urges Veto on Controversial Police Bill

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Rio de Janeiro Governor Cláudio Castro to veto specific provisions within a new bill, Bill 6027/2025, recently approved by the state legislature. The human rights organization argues that the bill could provide economic incentives for police shootings and significantly weaken the independence and quality of forensic analysis in criminal investigations. The legislation, approved on September 24, 2025, makes structural changes to the civil police force.

'Wild West Bonus' and Forensic Concerns

A central point of contention is a provision that would grant civil police officers bonuses ranging from 10% to 150% of their salaries for 'neutralizing criminals' and for the apprehension of large-caliber weapons. Legislator Alexandre Knoploch, a proponent of the bill, clarified during a debate that 'neutralize' means 'kill'. Federal prosecutors have also urged the governor to veto this bonus, citing its unconstitutionality and violation of the fundamental right to public safety.

Beyond the bonus, HRW has raised alarms about the bill's potential to undermine forensic analysis. Key concerns include:

• Granting the anti-bomb squad of the civil police elite unit, CORE, 'exclusive' responsibility for forensic analysis of explosives or incendiary artifacts, despite CORE officers not being forensic experts.
• Expanding the role of fingerprint experts, who are subordinated to civil police chief investigators, known as delegados, and lack autonomy.
• The absence of any reserved position for forensic experts in the ten-member Superior Council of Police, a key advisory body.
• Allowing delegados to direct forensic services, which critics argue compromises the independence necessary for unbiased scientific findings.

Another related bill, 39/2025, passed on September 30, 2025, also maintained the subordination of forensic services to delegados.

Historical Precedent and Potential Impact

Critics, including HRW, draw parallels to a similar monetary award, dubbed the 'Wild West bonus' or 'gratificação faroeste', established in Rio de Janeiro in 1995. That program was terminated in 1998 after police killings reportedly doubled, and a study analyzing approximately 1,200 autopsies over three years found that 65% of those killed by police had been shot in the back. Human rights activists warn that the reintroduction of such incentives could lead to a surge in extrajudicial killings and disproportionately affect young Black men in the city's favelas.

Official data indicates that in 2024, Rio de Janeiro's military and civil police killed 703 people, with another 470 killed from January through August 2025. Of those killed in 2024, 86% were Black, a percentage significantly higher than their share of the population in Rio de Janeiro, which is 58%. HRW Brazil director César Muñoz stated that 'Giving bonuses to police for killings is not only outright brutal but also undermines public security by creating a financial incentive for officers to shoot rather than arrest suspects.'