Rio de Janeiro Unveils Plan to Beef Up Tourist Security

In the face of rampant crime against foreign tourists, authorities in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro have announced a plan aimed at securing visitors who have begun to come to this city for the summertime season.

As many as 1,200 police officers will be on the beat around the burg’s main sightseeing spots in an effort to effectively foil attacks against travelers, said Marcelo Itagiba, interim secretary of public security in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Mr. Itagiba also explained state authorities are wrapping up negotiations to buy cameras that will be installed in different key points around the city. “We want to push crime against tourists down by ten percent compared to last year’s tally. That’s a goal that we’ve somewhat managed to accomplish in the first ten months of 2004,” he commented.

According to stats provided by the state’s Public Security Department, nearly 3,000 robberies and assaults against foreign tourists were reported in the state of Rio de Janeiro last year, especially in the beach areas of Copacabana and Ipanema.