World Cup courts are likely to be established at next year's tournament in Brazil as organisers address the country's high crime rate and brace for the possible return of the mass demonstrations that overshadowed the Confederations Cup this summer.

Although the rallies, which brought more than a million people on to the streets this year, were largely peaceful, the host nation said it will establish exclusion zones around stadiums and step up intelligence-gathering operations aimed at preventing violent protest.

"We have boosted the gathering process to prevent demonstrations during large-scale events, to gather relevant information to put in place whatever measures are required to prevent violent demonstrations," said Andre Rodrigues, special adviser for major events at the Ministry of Justice. He said the creation of dedicated courts has also been proposed by national, state and city level governments.

It as yet unclear what powers World Cup courts would have, but at the South African World Cup in 2010, similar bodies were established to fast-track judicial proceedings despite concerns of rushed justice. They dealt with cases ranging for robberies of visiting fans and assault to ambush marketing in contravention of Fifa's regulations.

For South Africa, one of the chief goals of this exercise was to offset concerns about its high crime levels. This is a problem shared by Brazil, which has some of the world's worst rates for murder and armed robbery. Last year, there were 27 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants, according to the health ministry, compared with 1 per 100,000 in the UK and 5 per 100,000 in the US.

As many of the killings are associated with drug traffickers, Rio de Janeiro has taken exceptional measures in recent years to remove armed gangs from favelas near tourist areas and World Cup sites. In a process known as "pacification", it has already sent in heavily armed troops and paramilitary police to regain control of 36 communities. Four more such campaigns are expected before the World Cup.

Police in charge of the operation closest to the England base camp in São Conrado insist the strategy has been a success. "I don't think there will be extra crime because of the World Cup," Major Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo, who heads the pacification program in the city's biggest favela, Rocinha, told the Guardian. "It's not a big deal for us. In fact, I'm so wrapped up in this work that sometimes I forget that the tournament is about to take place."

However, there are still sporadic gunfights in this and other communities and there have been worrying signs in recent months that the improvements of recent years may be reversing. The persistent threat of crime was also apparent last month, when dozens of holidaymakers on the beach were the victims of an "arrastao", a wave of thefts by more than a dozen young boys. The country's football violence also makes English hooliganism seem tame. Clashes between rival "organizado" fan groups can be murderous. By one estimate, 155 people have been killed in such attacks since 1988. Murders are also not unknown on the field of play. Earlier this year, a referee in the northern state of Maranhão stabbed a dissenting player to death, and was then decapitated by the crowd. At a national level, however, Brazil's fans have a far more benign reputation, partly because ticket prices and travel costs draw a more middle-class, less passionate crowd. Crowd violence inside the grounds is not considered a major threat during the World Cup.

Security forces have trained for the possiblity of an organised assault, but that too looks unlikely. There is no history of attacks by drug cartels on international events, despite rumours that the biggest gang in São Paulo – the First Capital Command (known by its Portuguese acronym PCC) – may expand their long-running war against the police, possibly in conjunction with Rio's leading cartel, the Red Command. Similarly, Brazil is not known as a terrorist target.

Nonetheless, the authorities will deploy anti-aircraft guns around World Cup stadiums to prevent a 9-11 type assault. The defence minister, Celso Amorim, said the 1,400 troops dispatched to each stadium would also be equipped to deal with chemical, biological and nuclear attacks. Tens of thousands of police will also be on duty, many in riot gear following the unexpectedly large demonstrations that took place in June.

Since then the protests have dwindled in number, but there have been several small, violent clashes between police – who have often been trigger happy with rubber bullets and tear gas – and "Black Bloc" agitators.

Protest organisers are cautious about the prospects of large demonstrations next year, but they say the World Cup is a possible target because it symbolises many of the problems that brought people on to the streets in June: corruption, inequality, police violence, poor public services, forced evictions and wasteful spending on stadiums.

"These issues are far from being resolved. In other words, the possibility of protests always exists," said Demian Castro, who is a member of the Popular Committee, which organised the demonstrations.

Other activists, journalists and commentators are certain there will be more rallies next June, but the questions is how large and how violent they will be.

"The World Cup is more than a target, it's a moment in Brazilian history. It's about using what the World Cup brings and hacking that to show the world what's is really happening in Brazil," said Rafael Vilela, a journalist with the Media Ninja collective, which has been on the frontline of the protests.

He told the Guardian that the government had already begun arresting activists and predicted that the government would implement new laws to outlaw the "Black Bloc" as a terrorist group. "They're not terrorists – they're really angry about the problems we have in Brazil," he said.

Tostão, one of the 1970 World Cup winning squad, also expects tense protests. "The demonstrations are correct and just. They raise concerns about the resources that Brazil has spent on hosting the tournament," he said. "There will probably be a repeat of them next year, but they will not take over the World Cup."

Juca Kfouri, one of Brazil's leading commentators, said the outside world is likely to get an image of Brazil that will be very different from that of carnival, the beach and beautiful women.

"There is a false idea of Brazilian happiness that is based on a wrong assumption that Brazilians do not claim ownership," he said. "But next year, there will be big parties inside the stadiums and big protests outside."