Brazil Senate passes sweeping criminal law reforms

In the first half of 2026, Brazil's Senate approved an extensive overhaul of the criminal code, enacted as Law 15.397. The reforms raise penalties for everyday offenses, increasing the maximum sentence for simple theft from four to six years, qualifying mobile‑phone theft, and setting a minimum ten‑year term for robbery causing serious bodily injury. Senator Efraim Filho advocated raising the minimum sentence for homicide‑linked robbery to 24 years.

The Senate also approved changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure, ending automatic release for inmates whose preventive detention reviews are delayed, extending the review interval from 90 to 180 days after a first‑instance conviction, and requiring the Public Prosecutor’s office to be heard before any decision on maintaining or revoking detention. The law was signed on 30 April with a presidential veto on one provision, which the Congress will review.

A related measure allocated R$ 33 million to the Ministry of Integration, though the primary focus of the Senate’s actions was the criminal‑justice reforms.