Brazil MPs greenlight bonuses for police killings
Lawmakers in Rio de Janeiro have approved a controversial measure granting financial bonuses to police officers for killing alleged criminals, reviving a policy once linked to soaring death tolls in the state.
The bill, passed late Tuesday, September 23, 2025, offers officers salary bonuses ranging from 10% to 150% during operations involving the seizure of heavy-calibre weapons or the “neutralisation of criminals.” The text now awaits enactment by Governor Claudio Castro, a conservative ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Critics say the plan incentivises lethal force in a state already notorious for violent policing. In 2024 alone, 703 people were killed in police operations in Rio de Janeiro, nearly two deaths every day, according to official data from the state’s Public Security Institute.
“This stimulates violence and turns death into public policy,” warned federal deputy Henrique Vieira, who opposed the measure. Rights groups echoed the concern, with Djeff Amadeus of the Black Coalition for Rights stating publicly that the policy could trigger a “widespread massacre perpetrated by police officers who will do everything possible to earn more money.”
Brazil’s security forces are among the deadliest in the world. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, police in Brazil kill thousands annually, disproportionately targeting young Black men in impoverished neighbourhoods. A similar bonus system, known as the “Wild West Bonus,” operated in Rio from 1995 to 1998 before being scrapped after a spike in killings.
Supporters argue the policy will strengthen the fight against heavily armed drug gangs that dominate Rio’s favelas. But opponents warn it risks worsening the cycle of violence in a city where confrontations between security forces and criminal groups already endanger civilians.
The legislation also underscores Brazil’s broader political divide on security. Governor Castro and Bolsonaro-aligned lawmakers have promoted aggressive policing as a deterrent to organised crime, while critics insist such policies normalise extrajudicial killings and erode human rights protections.
Amadeus cautioned that the measure could deepen mistrust in public institutions while further entrenching systemic racial and social inequalities in the country’s justice system.
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This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
