A source familiar with the preparations said that Brazil plans to deploy around 60,000 security forces for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, "bolstering security amid fears of a spike in violence in the picturesque city," according to Rodrigo Viga Gaier of REUTERS. The security operation would be "larger than the 40,000 deployed for the 2012 Games in London, but smaller than the 75,000-strong in Athens" in '04. The source said that federal and state governments and the Rio 2016 organizing committee are still "hammering out details of the operation that will include military troops, police, firemen and private security agents." A "rash of stabbings and shootings as well as a climb in robbery across the city has rekindled security concerns" after years of progress in "clamping down on crime." According to previous estimates from the Brazilian defense ministry, the security operation at the Olympics was expected to cost about R$600M ($195.1M) (REUTERS, 6/24). In São Paulo, Marco Antônio Martins reported the Olympic security task force will be "larger than the World Cup: in total, it had 25,787" people working in security. Documents obtained from the group planning security at the Games said that police would have "rapid response to incidents, particularly inside the arenas, reducing harm to people as much as possible." Police will also utilize "and care for the system of X-rays" before entering arenas. All spectators will also "go through metal detectors." To facilitate planning, organizers will "divide the city into four areas which are bases for main areas of the Games: Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Maracanã and Deodoro" (FOLHA DE SÃO PAULO, 6/24).
SPARKED FEARS: REUTERS' Stephen Eisenhammer wrote in the wake of the stabbing deaths of a cyclist and a German tourist, fears have sparked that after a year of progress, violence was "on the rise again in Brazil's postcard city." Last year, the number of robberies in the city of Rio "rose 25 percent, the biggest jump since records began" in '91. The trend "continues," with a 10% rise recorded for January, February and March. The trend is "depressing for a city that strived to use last year's" World Cup and the Games to "make Rio safer." The World Cup staged in 12 cities across Brazil "passed largely without incident after pre-tournament street protests and a security clampdown." However, since then, the murder rate has been "stubbornly stuck at 20 per 100,000 people, still putting Rio among the world's most dangerous major cities." It is three times "higher than the four previous Summer Olympic hosts put together" (REUTERS, 6/24).
