Brazil’s Brazen Beach Thefts Inspire Judo Vigilantes

Rio De Janeiro's postcard beaches turned into crime scenes again over the weekend following another series of brazen thefts. The assaults provoked confrontations between suspected pickpockets, angry residents and flustered policeman. Vigilantes responded by going after young men on the city’s bus lines. Some alleged thieves were arrested, and some of them got away, but the turmoil disrupted more than just the sands in Rio’s Zona Sul, home to famous beaches like Ipanema and Copacabana.

Images broadcast by TV Globo show thieves grabbing cell phones out right out of beachgoers’ pockets. In one video, a tearful British tourist recounts an assault of a relative and the theft of her possessions. In another video, this one of vigilantes, one suspected thief was dragged out onto the street and beaten by a mob.

As Rio prepares to host the 2016 Summer Olympic games, insecurity along the beaches and on public transportation is of dire concern to city officials, who are already struggling with issues like water quality, and allegations of human rights abuses and forced evictions of lower-income residents.

Martial Arts Vigilantes

Many beachgoers helped secure the arrests of theft suspects over the weekend. However, local media report that that what started as citizen-initiated arrests have turned into episodes of unrestrained vigilante violence.

One group of about 30 mixed martial arts practitioners conduct so-called raids of bus lines, Folha’s Bruna Fantti reports. Participants in that group say that they scour bus lines for young men who “look like they don’t have a [penny] in their pockets” but says that they don’t hurt them.

"We don't beat them up. We want to show that we are not hostages. The police officers supported us. The proof is that they didn't arrest us.", said Daniel, who practices Brazilian jiu jitsu, a martial art similar to judo that focuses on grappling techniques.

The vigilante actions coincide with the end to some police-run programs targeting poor youth on Rio’s buses and at the entrances to popular beaches.

Stop-And-Frisk

Law enforcement officials in Rio had been carrying out methodical stop-and-frisks of unaccompanied minors riding beach-bound bus lines. In August, police reportedly barred hundreds of young men from entering the public beaches, causing an outcry among human rights activists and adolescent discrimination victims.

Police defend the actions, pointing out that many of the brazen thefts are committed by young men who sometimes storm beachgoers in groups, overwhelming security. It’s not a new phenomenon and reports indicate that there's been an uptick in 2015.

Rio security secretary José Mariano Beltrame justified the policy, telling Globo that poor minors coming to beaches from Rio’s peripheral neighborhoods, often called favelas, were “vulnerable.”

“What the police wanted to do was a question of vulnerability [....] A minor who heads [...] to the beach with only a swimsuit, without money [for bus fare, food or drink]... is in my humble opinion in a vulnerable situation,” Beltrame told Globo .

Courts have intervened, stopping the controversial police practices.

“Instead of having one problem, we’ve got two,” Beltrame said of the thefts and the vigilantes.

Other police officials have said that they are investigating online vigilante organisers who want to “cleanse” the Zona Sul beach neighborhoods this coming weekend. The anonymous posts have called for citizens to assemble in groups with baseball bats, batons and tasers.

The Latin Times could not find any reports of vigilantes being arrested, though police say that the Facbook posts are illegal incitements to violence.