By Raymond Colitt

BRASILIA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched a $3.3 billion plan on Monday aimed at tackling the rampant violence and high murder rates that plague many Brazilian cities.

Brazil has the world's fourth-highest murder rate with about 45,000 people killed each year, following Colombia, Russia and Venezuela, according to the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture.

"(The plan) is not enough to compensate for centuries of inequality that gave rise to violence," Lula said during an inauguration ceremony in the capital Brasilia.

But he said it would "treat urban violence with the firm hand of the state."

High-profile murders and gang-related turf wars over the past year have raised criticism the left-leaning Lula has done too little to curb crime since first being elected in October 2002. More than 90 percent of Brazilians say violence has increased in recent years, according to a poll earlier in 2007.

Some cities, such as Recife in the northeast, have homicide rates of around 80 per 100,000 people -- twice as high as the most violent cities in the United States.

A large gap between rich and poor creates a breeding ground for much of the crime and drug-related murders.

Lula's plan focuses mostly on improving the quality of policing, boosting social programs and education, and building more prisons to ease overcrowding in the country's gang-infested jails.

More than 400,000 youths, including former convicts, would receive job training and financial aid through the program.

The plan aims to build 160 prisons with special facilities to provide jobs and education. Gang violence is often directed by criminals from within jails, as occurred last year when gang leaders orchestrated attacks on police and civilian targets that brought chaos to Brazil's biggest city, Sao Paulo.

Under the 5-year plan targeting the 11 most violent regions, police officers can qualify for a scholarship of up to 400 reais ($198) they can use for training.

Officers living in favelas or shanty towns, who often fear reprisal from criminals, can also qualify for housing aid. Underpaid and poorly trained police officers are often accused of human rights violations.

"It allows them to wear their uniforms proudly, standing up to organized crime," said Lula.

One human rights group welcomed the initiative.

"It's an important step in the right direction; it touches on the key points that generate violence," said Rubem Cesar Fernandes, executive director of the non-governmental organization Viva Rio.

"The question is whether they can actually implement it," he added.

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