Lack of policing is identified as the main security problem in SP, points out Datafolha

The results are contained in the most recent Datafolha survey on the topic. The survey interviewed 1,608 people aged 16 or over in 71 municipalities in the state of São Paulo.

The margin of error for general data is plus or minus 2 percentage points, but varies according to the population. The research is registered with the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) under numbers SP-01703/2026 and BR-06481/2026.

The percentage of those who see the lack of policing as the biggest bottleneck in public security in São Paulo is relatively lower than that recorded in 2022, the last survey on the topic, when 24% saw this as the biggest problem.

Robberies come next, with 11%, three percentage points more than the 8% recorded in the last survey. In third place is drug trafficking, with 8%, a percentage that also grew compared to 2022, when 4% talked about it.

Other complaints include security or lack thereof (7%), laws that do not work or impunity (6%), criminal factions and organized crime (4%) and poorly prepared or poorly trained police (4%).

Notes about the lack of police force on the streets tend to unite different political spectrums.

Both voters for Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) and Fernando Haddad (PT) think so, with 19% and 25% respectively. There are also no major differences between men and women: 18% of them see the lack of staff as the biggest bottleneck; among them, 22%.

The margin of error for voting intentions in 2026 is four percentage points for both pre-candidates; that of gender, in turn, ranges from three to four percentage points.

Complaints about policing are highest among those aged between 35 and 44. According to the survey, 24% of this age group see this as a major problem. Among those aged 16 to 24, on the other hand, it is 14%.

The rating is also higher among residents of the capital of São Paulo and the metropolitan region (24%) than in the interior (17%).

For the age group segment, the margin of error ranges from five to seven percentage points, plus or minus; in terms of city size, from three to four percentage points, more or less.

This is not a new problem. The number of active military police officers in May 2026, according to data from the SSP (Public Security Secretariat) of São Paulo, is lower than that recorded in 2001. The corporation currently has 79,603 officers, according to data from May; in 2001, there were 84,404.

The largest number came in 2006, when the state had more than 90 thousand police officers, a number that is far from being reached today despite hiring by the São Paulo government, which in recent years has opened competitions to expand the number.

Professional entities have been demanding better working conditions since the beginning of the current administration, both for the PM and for other security forces in São Paulo, such as the Civil Police and the Criminal Police. The lack of staff is one of the main complaints.

At the beginning of the year, the governor sanctioned a package of projects that, among other things, changes the career plan of the security forces and provides for around 10% salary increases for the Civil and Military police.

The text was approved by Alesp (Legislative Assembly of São Paulo) in a hurry to comply with electoral legislation, which prohibits the granting of benefits to civil servants in the six months prior to the electoral dispute. Improvements in security forces were a campaign promise from the governor in 2022.

FEAR OF VIOLENCE

The drop in the percentages of those who see the lack of policing as the main state security problem follows the decline seen in another indicator: fear of violence. According to Datafolha, São Paulo residents feel less fear today than four years ago, in April 2022.

In total, 47% of residents of the state of São Paulo report feeling very afraid of being victims of street robbery, a number that is equivalent to almost half of the state's population, but lower than the 57% recorded in the last survey, four years ago. Another 29% say they feel a little scared and 24% none at all.

The drop is also due to the fear of being robbed at traffic lights. According to the survey, 45% of São Paulo residents are very afraid of being the victim this time, nine percentage points less than in 2022, when 54% reported this fear.

The survey also measured the fear of being kidnapped or hit by a stray bullet, incidents of which 33% and 35% report being very afraid, according to Datafolha. According to the survey, 30% are very afraid of being robbed at home. In all cases, the indices are lower than in 2022.

The reduction in fear among São Paulo residents occurs at the same time that SSP data points to a sharp drop in criminal indicators in the state.

The latest balance, for May, pointed to a decrease in most criminal indicators compared to the same period in 2025.

The number of homicides was the main one. In the first five months of 2026, for example, the state recorded fewer than 1,000 murders for the first time since 2001, the beginning of the historical series. There were 970 occurrences from January to May.

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