São Paulo facial recognition system aids arrest of fugitive rape convict
São Paulo's Smart Sampa facial recognition system, which uses artificial intelligence to cross-reference camera images with law enforcement databases, identified and led to the arrest of a fugitive convicted of rape. The system had helped apprehend hundreds of fugitives and suspects in its first six months of operation.
What happened
Fernando Bispo da Silva, a 52-year-old man convicted in 2006 to 73 years in prison for the rape of 17 women in Guarulhos, was identified by Smart Sampa facial recognition cameras while cycling in central São Paulo on January 10, 2025.
Silva had been a fugitive since October 2024. After identification by the Smart Sampa system, the Guarda Civil Metropolitana apprehended him on Rua Florêncio de Abreu and he was taken to the 8th Police District.
Reported impact
According to the São Paulo Municipal Government, Smart Sampa helped identify and arrest 388 fugitives in its first six months of operation, contributed to 1,532 flagrant arrests, and located 29 missing persons.
Index analysis
Smart Sampa uses artificial intelligence to cross-reference camera images with databases of wanted and missing persons maintained by the São Paulo State Public Security Secretariat and the São Paulo Municipal Secretariat of Human Rights and Citizenship, and also accesses federal government databases for stolen vehicles.
The system operates approximately 20,000 cameras across the city.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.