©️AFP
Rio de Janeiro, 25 September 2025.- The Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro adopted a law reinstating a premium for police officers involved in the « neutralization » criminals. Reproved by human rights defenders, this measure, nicknamed « Far-West premium », still to be promulgated by Governor Claudio Castro. It could give agents up to 150% of their bonus pay, reviving the spectre of the 1990s marked by an explosion of the dead during police operations.
On Tuesday evening, the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro approved a law allowing the payment of bonuses to police officers in the event of seizure of heavy weapons or « Criminal neutralization ». This measure, validated by a large majority, still has to be promulgated within 15 days by Governor Claudio Castro, close to former President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to the bill, civilian police officers could receive a premium of between 10 and 150 per cent of their salary. For its critics, this system risks turning violence into a tool of public policy. « This bonus stimulates violence and transforms death into politics », denounced on X the MP Henrique Vieira.
A similar measure had already existed between 1995 and 1998, before being abolished in the face of the alarming increase in the number of deaths during interventions. In the 1990s, the military police inherited from the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985) also benefited from this type of premium.
Rio de Janeiro remains today one of the states most affected by urban violence in Brazil. Forced police interventions in the favelas, dominated by drug trafficking networks, often result in deaths, causing growing concern among human rights defenders, who are now fearful of a « widespread massacre » motivated by winning bait.
W.A.
