Case Study: Brazilian Federal Police accelerates environmental crime detection with Planet and SCCON

Geospatial technology helps in the fight against environmental crimes and other illicit activities in Brazil

The Brazilian Federal Police faced significant challenges in combating environmental crimes and illicit activities across Brazil's vast and complex territory, particularly in the often cloud-covered Amazon. Their previous reliance on outdated, low-resolution satellite imagery caused major delays in detection and response. To overcome this, they partnered with vendor Planet and its partner SCCON, leveraging Planet's daily high-resolution satellite imagery.

The solution provided by Planet, delivered through the SCCON platform, supplied daily change-detection alerts for activities like illegal deforestation and mining. This enabled near real-time monitoring and faster, more efficient field operations for the federal police. The results were substantial, including a drastic reduction in investigation time from over a year to just a few months and the collection of over $1.9 billion (USD) from fines, seized goods, and frozen assets. Planet's technology was crucial in creating a large, collaborative network that improved the effectiveness of public safety efforts across the country.

Brazilian Federal Police

Cristiano Cunha

Head of the Federal Police’s Geographic