Homicides in Brazil at the lowest level in over a decade, report says

By DIANE JEANTET
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Researchers say the number of homicides in Brazil last year reached the lowest level in more than a decade. The Brazilian Forum on Public Safety is an independent group that tracks national crime statistics. It says in a report Thursday that about 47,500 people were killed in 2022, which was down 2.4% from the previous year. The downward trend has come amid a sharp rise in the number of firearms circulating in Brazil. Experts have come up with at least three factors to explain the dual trend, including a relative truce among gangs since 2018. On other violence, the report says that while homicides fell last year, violent attacks on women rose and there was a record number of rapes.