Seized Firearms in Brazil: National and Southeastern Datasets for the Analysis of Military-Style Weapons

Southeastern region and merges information from both the Federal Police and various state-level law enforcement agencies (e.g., Military and Civil Police). While both datasets share a broadly similar structure, the southeast dataset includes additional fields specific to the States of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo.

These datasets are intended to facilitate research into firearm seizure patterns and trends in Brazil. The values for most categorical fields are presented in Portuguese, as they mirror the official terminology used by the corresponding agencies. Both datasets include temporal, geographical, and operational information (such as the seizing agency or firearm type), enabling comprehensive analyses of firearm-related incidents.

Researchers who use these datasets should take into account the institutional variations in data collection across different regions and the unique categorisations employed by Federal and State authorities. Moreover, the data must be handled with due respect for any legal and ethical constraints concerning law enforcement information.

Name: db_national.csv

Sources: Federal Police Department, Ministry of Justice and Public Security

Column

Meaning

Type of data

Possible values (if categorical)

Index

Identifier of the record

Number

source_origin

The institution that collected the data

Categorical

pf (Federal Police), mj (Ministry of Justice and Public Security)

federal_unity_seizure

The Brazilian state where the seizure occurred

Categorical

AC, AL, AM, AP, BA, CE, DF, ES, GO, MA, MG, MS, MT, PA, PB, PE, PI, PR, RJ, RN, RO, RR, RS, SC, SE, SP, TO

year

Year of the seizure

Number

type

Type of firearm

Categorical

carabina, espingarda, fuzil, garrucha, metralhadora, pistola, revolver

quantity

Number of firearms seized

Number

Name: db_southeast.csv

Sources: Federal Police Department, São Paulo State Public Security Secretariat, Espírito Santo Civil Police, Rio de Janeiro - Institute of Public Security and Minas Gerais State Secretariat for Justice and Public Security

Column

Meaning

Type of data

Possible values and examples (if categorical)

Index

Identifier of the record

Number

year

Year of the seizure

Number

manufacturer

Manufacturer of the firearm

Categorical

taurus, colt, cbc, s&w

type

Type of firearm

Categorical

espingarda, fuzil, pistola, revolver,

calibre

Calibre of the firearm

Categorical