Copacabana, renowned for its once vibrant artistic life as well as for its sandy beaches, was brought into the international spotlight in the 1950s by resident musicians who created the distinctive bossa nova style on the basis of samba and jazz.
But the trendy district went into decline in the '80s as the sprawl of slums turned the once bohemian neighborhood into an area of poverty and crime, where drug peddling and turf wars are part of the daily routine.
A current crackdown on crime, prostitution and street begging in Copacabana is part of local authorities' ambitious plan to make it a secure and visitor-friendly place again.
Reporting preliminary results, police said the mugging rate in the area dropped to 72 in the first half of May, against 102 a year ago, and that more than 250 vagrants have been taken off the streets into asylums since mid-April.
An offensive on prostitution and juvenile delinquency has reportedly led to the detention of some 40 prostitutes, nearly a hundred young beggars, and a dozen youths wanted on suspicions of theft and other offenses.
However, an overnight shootout Tuesday between competing drug dealers in one of Copacabana's slum areas, known in Brazil as favelas, showed that authorities still have a long way to go. It was mere luck that no bystanders were caught in the crossfire.
