Brasília, January 20, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The representative in Brazil of the United Nations Drugs and Crime Organization (UNODC), Giovanni Quaglia, presented the Minister of Justice, Thomaz Bastos, an urban security pilot project, to be implanted in three cities: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Vitória. The idea is for the program to serve as a model for future application in other Brazilian cities. According to Quaglia, the Minister intends to implant the program immediately.

Quaglia's proposal includes improving police salaries, creating community police forces, redoubling efforts to suppress illegal trade in arms, and developing a project to map data relevant to security. "Our idea is to collaborate with a broad program of urban security. The security problem in Brazil is serious; therefore, we intend to meet to evaluate the problems and delineate priorities. The good news is that the Minister is very interested in UN participation and is ready to get the program underway as early as next week," he informed. (DAS)