Back on the beat, Rio cops step up patrols news

Faced with a surge in armed robberies, Rio de Janeiro police are using mounted patrols and old-fashioned tactics to combat crime ahead of next year's Olympic Games.

Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo Faria, who heads the military police, told AFP on Thursday that an extra 70 officers had been assigned to the city's streets and parks "to help find armed suspects and sellers of stolen goods."

About 30 of them will be on horseback. Others will be on bicycles or else on foot.

Horses can provide a useful advantage -- they make a striking visual deterrent and, unlike squad cars, don't get stuck in the city's heavy traffic.

Since the extra patrols started Tuesday, cops arrested five people armed with knives, as well as three others caught with stolen electronics or jewels. On Wednesday, officers nabbed a man suspected of violent robbery.

Sellers and those working in Rio's bustling heart say they are reassured.

The city center is both "risky and touristy. We need this mounted police presence to scare off delinquents. Rio is the venue for a series of international events, that's why it's important," said 48-year-old lawyer Luiz Eduardo.

"The city needs more security. It's comforting to see officers on horses," said computer worker Valdir Rodrigues, 33.

The move comes as part of an ongoing crime crackdown in Rio that started ahead of the 2014 World Cup.