More than two-thirds of Brazilians distrust their police forces and that sentiment is growing, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The 7th annual report by the Brazilian Public Security Forum shows 70.1 percent of Brazilians said in the first half of 2013 that they did not trust the police, up from 61.5 percent in the same period in 2012.
The police remained the third most distrusted institution in Brazil, after political parties, distrusted by 95.1 percent of Brazilians, and the Congress, distrusted by 81.5 percent of the population.
The figures reveal a pervasive lack of trust in the country's political process. The study also shows a total of 50.3 percent of Brazilians do not trust the Catholic Church, and 34.6 percent said they did not trust the armed forces.
All of these figures were higher than in 2012, indicating that Brazilians are generally more distrustful of all the five institutions.
The report said Brazilian police are widely regarded as corrupt, violent and inefficient, a perception made worse by the fact that the rate of solved murders in Brazil is low.
Also, a total of 1,890 people died last year in incidents involving police officers.
Confrontations between anti-riot police and protesters have happened in Brazilian cities recently, causing complaints about police brutality and contributing to the perception that police use excessive force, according to the study.