emergency assistance in rio de janeiro is available for nearly all types of situations, and can be reached free of charge from any phone, private, public or cellular by dialing three digits - visitors should always carry the following numbers for police 190, ambulance 192, firefighters 193.

visitors planning trips to towns near rio should also note defesa civil number which is 199 - visitors planning on going hiking within rio, the 'search and rescue' number to call in case of emergencies would be (21) 33994361 or (21) 33994350.

the rio tourist police are located on avenida afrânio de melo franco, 159 in leblon  and can be reached at (21) 2332.2924, (21) 2332.2885, (21) 2332.2889 and acts in coordination with the batalhão de policiamento em áreas turísticas, responsible for protection of people and goods in areas with high influx of visitors.