Brazil recorded 792,284 incidents of mobile phone theft and robbery in 2025, according to data released Thursday [1].
The decline reflects a shifting landscape in urban crime across the country. While the overall numbers are falling, the concentration of these crimes in specific metropolitan hubs remains a significant challenge for law enforcement.
The Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública (FBSP) said there was a 7.7% decrease in these crimes compared to 2024 [2]. This represents a national rate of 371.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants [1]. The findings were detailed in the 20th Brazilian Public Security Yearbook [2].
Regional disparities persist despite the national downward trend. São Paulo accounted for 20% of the total national occurrences [1]. In the city of São Paulo specifically, authorities recorded 35,385 mobile phone robberies between January and July 2025 [5].
While most of the country saw improvements, the FBSP said that Rio de Janeiro and Paraíba were exceptions to the general decline in phone-related crimes [1]. These areas did not follow the national trend of decreasing thefts and robberies.
The data indicates that mobile devices remain a primary target for criminal activity in Brazil. The high volume of cases in São Paulo suggests that the city remains a focal point for these types of crimes, averaging one case every nine minutes during the first seven months of 2025 [5].
“Brazil recorded 792,284 incidents of mobile phone theft and robbery in 2025”
The 7.7% reduction in mobile phone crimes suggests that national security measures or changes in criminal patterns are taking effect. However, the fact that 20% of all cases are concentrated in São Paulo and that certain states like Rio de Janeiro are bucking the trend indicates that the crisis is becoming more localized rather than disappearing. This regional divergence suggests that state-level policing strategies are now the primary variable in reducing device theft.
