Brazil reports drop in cellphone thefts, Rio shows rise

The 20th Brazilian Public Security Yearbook recorded 792,284 cellphone robberies and thefts in 2025, a 7.7% decline from the previous year. The national average fell to 95 devices per hour. São Paulo, home to 5.6% of the population, accounted for 20% of all incidents.

São Luís recorded the highest theft rate at 1,517 per 100 000 inhabitants, followed by Belém (1,487) and São Paulo (1,390). Other cities in the top ten included Salvador, Lauro de Freitas, Porto Velho, Manaus, Olinda, Ananindeua and Teresina. In the South, Paraná posted the highest regional rate for cellphone thefts, with 245.3 incidents per 100 000 residents.

Within São Paulo city, six central neighborhoods account for most thefts; Pinheiros led with 3,091 robberies, and major avenues such as Consolação and Avenida Paulista showed the highest street‑level counts. While robberies involving violence dropped 18.6%, non‑violent thefts rose 0.9%.

Rio de Janeiro was the only state with an increase, seeing a 19.4% rise in robberies and a 24.6% rise in thefts of phones. The federal “Celular Seguro” program, launched in December 2023, is credited with helping reduce the profitability of these crimes.