A Transferência de Líderes de Organizações Criminosas Aumenta o Crime Local? O Caso de Marcola

Abstract

Marcola, leader of the largest and most powerful criminal organization in Brazil, the First Command of the Capital (PCC), was transferred to the Federal Penitentiary of Brasília in March 2019. The purpose of the transfer was to break the prisoner's ties, isolating him from the other members of the organization. This paper investigates whether the arrival of the PCC leader resulted in any impact on local criminal activity. For this purpose, we use data from the National System of Statistics on Public Security and Criminal Justice and the population of criminal (and civil) lawsuits filed in the first degree sections of all 27 Brazilian State Courts. The dynamic of cargo theft, vehicle theft/robbery, economically motivated crimes, homicides and other violent crimes are investigated. The results do not support the claim that Marcola's transfer had a positive effect on crime in the region.