Much have been said about Rio-de Janeiro ´s police, but tourists need not to worry. Rarely conflicts reach prime areas such as Rio ´s South Zone. Belavista-Rio wrote a series of Rio Security Tips to make sure you avoid unwanted hassles during your stay. Additionally, we described below the four types of police uniforms in Rio-de- Janeiro, so you can easily identify them in case you need some help or assistance:


Regular Military Police is in charge for combating the criminal activities and maintaing the public order in Rio de Janeiro. They are dressed in blue and grey uniforms, with black boots, as seen below. The also wear a black vest and white caps. Today, there are over 40.000 Military Police troopers in town, with 39 Battaglions.

See picture below of Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro.



Municipal Guard in Rio-de-Janeiro is in charge for the supervision of traffic, beach patrolling and minor types of criminal occurrences. They are dressed in a brown uniform; brown pants, khaki shirts and white cap. The Municipal Guard troop doesn’t regularly use fire arms.

See below picture of Municipal Guard of the wonder city.




The third type of policemen found in Rio is formed by the National Force. This elite police is usually called upon special occasions like the Pan American Games, important conferences or presidential visits in Rio-de-Janeiro. They are easily identified by their camouflage uniform, black fire proof vest, and red berets. See below uniform of National Force:



Finally, the last type of police that can be seen in Rio is the Battalion of Special Operations-BOPE. This elite troop became worldwide famous because of the successful motion picture “Elite Squad”, which portrays some of the activities performed by this hardcore police. They wear a black uniform and are rarely seen close to the tourists’ scene. They can also be identified by their intimidating badge, which has a skull, crossed by 2 guns and a knife. See below BOPE uniform in action:



The Wonder City also has a battalion strictly dedicated to foreign tourists, and is called “DEAT” . The District for Attending to Tourists DEAT is a special branch of the Civil Police and is made up of a Delegate (Superintendent), detectives and clerks responsible for investigating and recording occurrences. The DEAT has its own offices conveniently located in Leblon in front of the Casa Grande and Scala theaters. The District was instituted and the police officers specifically trained to solve incidents involving foreign visitors.

Follow this link to Google Maps to the access this tourist battalion.


Please see address below for DEAT District:


Delegacia de Atendimento ao Turista - DEAT
Address: Av. Afrânio de Mello Franco, s / nº - Leblon
22430-060
Phone: (55 21) 3399-7565 / 69
(55 21) 3399-7457 call center
(55 21) 3399-7562 intelligence service.
Fax: (55 21) 3399-7450