Érica Sato
Reporter - Agência Brasil

São Paulo - A law ordering bars to be closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. was the most significant step in the campaign to combat crime in Diadema, in the state of São Paulo, in the opinion of the mayor of the city, José de Fillipi Júnior. Diadema's experience in reducing violence will be presented at the 11th Congress of the United Nations (UN) Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Program, which gets underway today in Bangkok, Thailand. According to Fillipi Júnior, the measures adopted in Diadema will be expounded and discussed as a model, at the request of the UN. The mayor himself will make the presentation.

The law ordering bars to be closed during the early morning hours was based on the finding that 60% of homicides occurred between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. "We did a study. Eighty percent of the city was favorable to a measure of this type, and we applied it. This was one of the good, effective measures we took: the law to close bars. 93% of the city's population presently supports the curfew," the mayor said.

Diadema was the first city in the state of São Paulo to sign a covenant with the Federal Police and the Ministry of Justice to promote the campaign to disarm the civilian population through the collection of firearms.

Diadema's experience now serves as a reference in the war on crime. Other examples of preventive actions in Diadema, such as the use of bicycles by metropolitan civilian guards to help in the task of policing the city, were presented at the Metropolitan Safety Forum and adopted in various municipalities.

Translation: David Silberstein