Video surveillance in Rio de Janeiro: Technological modernization in a sport's mega events city

The paper discusses police video surveillance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, through ethnographic research conducted in control rooms in 2008, focusing also on some recent important transformations, as the relative success of the "proximity policing" strategy (the local category is UPP – Pacifying Police Unit), unprecedentedly. From the last years, technological modernization has its importance increased in security investment of Rio de Janeiro, in contrast with the traditional policy of the public security institutions, where the discursive emphasis was on a purely repressive model and investments were mostly in warfare.

External factors also contribute to this transformation, mainly Rio’s choice to host the 2016 Olympics Summer Games, and 2014 football World Cup final match – as well as the event’s media center. Host two Sport Mega Events (beside them it will be held also in Rio the World Catholic Youth Journey – with the presence of the Pope, in 2013), brings important financial resources to local security policies, and also introduce a new concern, until then absent among the many security problems of the city: international terrorism. The main local security problems are, for some decades, common urban crime, the armed occupation of poor territories (favelas) by drug dealers gangs and police violence and corruption. However, the Sport Mega Events always entail technological collaboration and international securitization (being quite marked the difference in position between the Global North, as the supplier, and the Global South, as a customer, consumer), in some cases determining how you investments  should be made (the case of the Athens Olympics, in 2000, is a prime example). The main question concerning control technologies, especially video surveillance, on this paper is how international Sport Mega Events and local security demands specificities can be brought together, to leave a legacy to the city?