Speaking Portuguese
How to report a theft to the police, in Portuguese
If you are in the chair right now
Roubaram minha bolsa. Preciso registrar um boletim de ocorrência.
My bag has been stolen. I need to file a police report.
If that gets brushed off
Foi há uma hora, no metrô. Dentro tinha celular, carteira e chaves.
It was an hour ago, on the metro. My phone, wallet and keys were inside.
«Roubaram» — an anonymous they did it — is how Portuguese reports a theft. The document is o boletim de ocorrência, which every Brazilian calls o B.O., and it is the thing your insurer, your embassy and your phone company will all ask for.
Nobody plans for this, and it arrives at the worst possible moment for building a sentence: you are rattled, your phone is gone, and the officer needs specifics. Brazil at least gives the paperwork a friendly name — everything hangs off two letters.
If you need more than one line
neutral
Roubaram minha carteira.
My wallet has been stolen. Swap in: meu celular, minha mochila, meu passaporte.
neutral
Quero registrar um B.O.
I want to file a B.O. — what everyone actually calls the boletim de ocorrência. In Portugal you would apresentar queixa instead.
neutral
Foi hoje de manhã, perto da estação.
It was this morning, near the station.
firmest
Preciso de uma cópia para o seguro.
I need a copy for the insurance. The reason you came, and worth saying out loud.
Two things worth knowing
This is the one conversation you will have while too rattled to build a sentence.
The B.O. is the thing, not the visit
Registrar um boletim de ocorrência is the act that produces the document everything else depends on — insurance, embassy, a replacement SIM. Most Brazilian states let you file one online at the delegacia eletrônica, phone thefts included, which matters when the thing you would call the police with is exactly what was stolen. Either way, leave with the B.O. or its number.
«Roubaram» — the anonymous they
Portuguese pins the theft on an unnamed third person plural: roubaram minha bolsa — they stole my bag, whoever they were. No passive needed, no suspect implied. You may also meet the official distinction on the form — roubo with violence or threat, furto without — but in your mouth, roubaram covers it, and every officer will understand.
What Carlos actually said
What you have to get done
- Say what was taken and where it happened
- Explain what the bag looks like and what was inside
- Talk about when it happened and answer any related questions
Carlos
Take a deep breath, sit down and tell me what happened.
You
All right, I'll try to calm down. My bag was stolen right near the entrance of the police station, and I need to register what happened.
Carlos
I understand — you did the right thing coming for help; we can register everything calmly.
You
Thank you; it happened about twenty minutes ago, as I was approaching the station entrance.
Carlos
Right, I've recorded that it happened about twenty minutes ago; we'll process the report, and I hope your belongings are found soon.
The whole conversation, unedited
A real run in the app, nothing scripted on the officer's side. The transcript above is taken from this recording, and the objectives tick off on screen as they are met.
Turn sound on to hear it.
Now say it yourself
Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Carlos is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.
It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.
Practise this conversation
