Rio+20 summit to get maximum security: State official

RIO DE JANEIRO: Rio is committed to ensuring maximum security for next month's UN summit on sustainable development which will serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2014 soccer World cup and the 2016 Olympics, a top state official said.

"We do not want anything that would tarnish Rio's image," Roberto Alzir, deputy security secretary for Rio de Janeiro sate, told a press conference. "With Rio+20, we are going to perfect ourselves for 2013 (the Confederations Cup), 2014 and 2016," he added.

Alzir said that since police began in 2008 to drive drug traffickers out of many favelas, the "Marvelous City" is already a lot more secure than in 1992 when it hosted the UN Earth Summit with army tanks pointing their guns toward the shantytowns.

"In 1992, there were 64.7 homicides for each group of 100,000 inhabitants in the city and last year, this was down to 24.1," a rate which keeps dropping, he added.

Officials said the security challenge for the landmark June 20-22 summit would be met through close cooperation between civil and military police.

Specific targets would be set, with bonuses of up to $4,500 every six months for police officers who meet them. One of the targets is to get "adequate crime rates" in 2014 lower than 10 homicides for each group of 10,000 residents, Alzir said.

The number of police deployed in the streets from June 13 to 22 will be doubled, with 3,000 additional personnel daily.

The Rio+20 gathering, the fourth major summit on sustainable development since 1972, is to be attended by 115 global leaders and 50,000 participants from around the world, including corporate executives and representatives of various social movements.