“Muggings on Rio’s bus fleet, the main form of public transport in this metropolis of 12 million, doubled over the last year, the state’s ISP security statistics agency says. More than 420 incidents were reported in January alone, compared with 195 in the same month a year earlier, returning such incidents to their peak level of four years ago.

The phenomenon also dovetails with a general rise in non-transit related muggings and robberies. In the first three months of the year, the number of muggings reported in the city’s marquee Copacabana neighborhood rose nearly 60 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Paulo Storani, a security expert who spent nearly 30 years on Rio’s police force, said at least half of the 12 World Cup host cities have experienced a recent rise in violent crime. He attributed the increases to a feeling of impunity.”

Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/21/brazil-crime-world-cup_n_5368592.html

Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/anakasparian) and Ben Mankiewicz (http://www.twitter.com/benmank77) of The Young Turks discuss this story. Do you blame the World Cup or poverty for the surge in crime in Brazil? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.