MAI says that Portugal has no shortage of police, but they have to be free from administrative tasks – Observer
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Despite the news of the closing to the public of the largest PSP police station in Porto, for several hours this weekend, which seems to illustrate a more generalized problem of lack of resources in the policeThe Minister of Internal Administration decided to come to the field and relativize the situation. For the Government, there is no lack of police — and Portugal “compares well and above” with other countries — but rather an organization of resources, which must be “freed” from administrative and bureaucratic tasks.
On a visit to the operational command of the PSP in Lisbon — this Monday he will still do the same in command of Porto — the minister, José Luís Carneiro, made a point of starting to take stock of the numbers to prove that Portugal has no lack of lack , at least human: “We have 442 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants; Spain has 369, France 322, Germany 301, Finland 135: we have four times more police than Finland”, he stressed.
Rui Moreira wants explanations about opening hours and the PSP court
What fails then? Stressing that he has only been in this position for “months”, Carneiro promised for “very soon” a negotiated solution with the municipalities — to qualify the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, he will already have in conversation with the governor availability — to release the police officers, who are being “absorbed” in bureaucratic tasks.
In order for this to happen, for carving problems, the attendance of documentation or the disappearance of animals, from citizen’s stores or in the parish councils can pass. “People want to see more police on the street, more paperwork, that’s what they want. We want to give a greater feeling of security, which is not just objective, it is a perception that is created”, explained.
Joining this solution, the minister recalled that there are 900 future police officers ending their training in Torres Novas and the ministry wants to launch a contest to reinforce 1020 soldiers by “October,” — although, again, the Government believes that No it is “the fundamental thing”, because there is no shortage of police officers nor does it assume that the solution will involve the end point of these police stations, but rather their reorganization.
In addition, the new integrated urban security strategy, which should also include the contributions of the safe security program in these meetings, as well as the security and valorization of the meetings, of the local security and safety contracts. All goals to articulate with the multi-annual investment plan of 600 million of infrastructure and protection equipment, to be approved in August.
Safety. MAI says that crime should be looked at in 2021 in a pandemic context
Faced with the unsatisfactory scenario outlined by the recent report by the General Inspection of Internal Administration, which points to the lack of means in many PSP and GNR subunits or to police stations without conditions, the minister underlined that this is not the case for most of the squads. And he preferred diagnosis for more positive data: the increase in general crime compared to 2019, by 8%, serious crime by 10%, juvenile delinquency and gang crime, registered a greater resistance to authority. All data compared to 2019, to avoid comparisons with the pandemic period.