Dismantling law, PCC and markets

Abstract

In the state of São Paulo, notifications of vehicle thefts and robberies increased between 2003 and 2014. Since then, this type of crime has decreased. What would explain this oscillation? Combining ethnographic experiments and quantitative data, the article proposes an analytical framework composed of three explanatory hypotheses: (i) the implementation of the “Dismantling Law”; (ii) transformations in the dynamics of the Primeiro Comando da Capital and (iii) economic changes associated with the automobile industry. Our results suggest that the implementation of the “Auto Dismantling Law”, regulating the illegal car parts market, had decisive effects on the decrease of vehicle theft. The other hypotheses suggest ancillary effects that also deserve attention.