Security in Lisbon. Plans in the drawer, a void of action and politics almost only for TV
Several “cities” that exist “cohabit” within the “ha of Lisbon” and only “deeper decision-making on how to intervene in the feeling of security in each area of knowledge” of the capital: “with what message, for what fundamental public city and using what measures”.
This is one of the main aspects of the study on “The feeling of security and victimization in the city of Lisbon“, made by the Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences of Universidade Nova, at the request of the city council.
Despite having registered 80% of those questioned if they are insured in the city, this study, which is based on a survey of a representative sample of residents, reveals that 69% of surveys cite security-related issues as a concern.
Among these, 23% refer to the lack of security, in a generic sense, as one of the central problems of those who live in Lisbon; 10% refers to drug trafficking and consumption, plus street violence.
“With a high degree of certainty it is possible to say that the feeling of urban life figures that the most inquired life problems“, signal the researchers from Universidade Nova.
The main reason for this perception is that “the area of residence is sparsely policed (70.3%)”. Of those who still observe policing, 41% say such sponsorship is “infrequent.”
The confirmation that the lack of police is concerned with Lisboners is in line with what the Mayor Carlos Moedas – and its pressure led a PSP to activate a mobile squad in the areas with the largest night gatherings -, but there was still not enough response from those who can decide: the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) and the PSP.
Plan for eight years in the drawer
In 2014, the “PSP Reorganization Plan in Lisbon” was approved and published in a decision by the CML, an agreement between the government, autarchy and PSP, but it did not come out of the drawer.
“From the point of view of the CML, what the city is bound to is officially agreed in 2014, enshrined in our Deliberation no. councilor with this role, Ângelo Pereira.
“We found that, after eight years, unfortunately there was no obligation the obligation to put more police to run the streetsthat until now has only been activated and that during these last four years 14 police stations were closed and only two new ones were openedI will be building the six new ones and blocks that are programmed in the Plan to replace the ones that closed”, he assures.
Criticisms of the “lack of police” and the lack of a “security strategy” for the city are transversal and also address the night show.
“You have to die to talk about security in Lisbon. We talk for a few days, there are plans, then it passes. Until I die again”, he underlines José Gouveia, from the National Association of Nightclubs.
The night and night entertainment were the media focus of the PSP as they were in Lisbon, with the news of the robbery, the deaths of the PSP agent Guerra.
“We feel that the municipal police are willing and comes to the street, but has limited powers. The PSP now comes with the mobile unit, which is more of a placebo without any logic, with only two policemen. PSP prefers to be in idle operations, in a quantity of dead fish. Where you need to be is not. There is no policing. A motorcycle platform was enough to cover the entire area between the docks and Cais do Sodré – it takes only three minutes – to feel safe. Every three minutes there was a police at the door. But there is not. When it was the pandemic, there were people on motorcycles to send home“, indicating this responsible.
night without police
“A policeman is worth more than two or three security guards. We’re paying well. It can even be three or four times more expensive. Two gratuities in the 24th of July zone made the difference,” she says.
Ricardo Tavares, from the Portuguese Association of Bars, Nightclubs and Entertainmentwe regret the Chamber’s “lack of dialogue” to reach “balanced agreements that serve the interest of all, those who want to have fun, operators and residents” and guarantees that they have “been on the front line” making proposals .
For example, maintaining the esplanades during the pandemic, which also serve to contain the gatherings that are always an opportunity for robberies and violence. They serve as a security measure. The jeans disappear, but now a more guaranteed night.
In 2018, following the Urban Beach case, the former Minister of Internal Affairs, Eduardo Cabritathe former president of the CML, Fernando Medinaannounce the plan “Night + Safe”with a set of preventive measures, such as video surveillance in all accesses to night spaces, registration of administrative and criminal occurrences through a shared platform between CML, PSP and other entities involved.
PSP declaration of increased violence
In an operational risk operation, the adequacy of the need according to the need of the Lisbon space is 23 spaces whose activity was “susceptible to alteration of public order”.
Asked about this plan, MAI does not have monitoring reports on the implementation of this public policyWe guarantee that “were from safety cars, generic drinks, access prevention, but vehicle awareness measures to safety vehicles, vehicle protection, safety protection, vehicle transport, safety protection, vehicle transport , security protection, transport of goods, security protection, distribution of safety pans, traffic protection, distribution of pans for the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors or greater police surveillance”.
Neither the night businessmen, nor those who frequent it, see the police, but the MAI says that “the PSP maintains permanent and regular actions in the places, reinforcing the policing of visibility and proximity”.
The office of José Luís Carneiro advances that, after a “stop in the implementation and evaluation of the program, imposed by the pandemic, it will now be resumed – within the framework of the Integrated Strategy for Urban Security that is in preparation – to promote security, peace and public tranquility and preventing crime in nightlife areas”.
Will be a Secretary of State Isabel Oneto coordinating this strategy, the government official who, with Eduardo Cabrita, had coordinated “Noite + Segura”.
To prove the visibility, the presence on Saturday of the national director of PSP, Magina da SilvaIn a prevention operation in the Cais do Sodré area, Accompanied by televisions.
“The intensity of violence used to commit serious and violent crimes, using bladed weapons and firearms is increasing”warned.
Asked by the DN about the concrete data from Lisbon on which the director relied for this confirmation, the PSP did not respond. None of the issues were identified in at least the security of Lisbon, nor about its activity.
“Closing generated feeling and feeling”
The councilor of the PC, João Ferreira, has a substitute that, because of “policing” has increased the “feeling with P of proximity” in Lisbon. And the problem is not from now. It’s at least ten years old. “The isolation since 2012 has generated a clear feeling of security, because it is more difficult to reactivate: what should happen with proximity policing is over”, he considers.
The conclusion is simple: “When the precincts close, the areas of the city where they existed are no longer safe”.
The closing list is extensive and covered the entire city. “We had the closure of police stations in Praça do Comércio, Cai do Sodré, in Alcântara, in Bairro do Cabrinha, in Rossio, in Mouraria, in Gomes Freire, in Santa Marta, in Arroios, and this is an area where there is a clear feeling de, Bela Vista, in years, in Rêgo, Marvila, in Che, in Bairro do Condomínio, Bela Vista, Carnide… As he lists the police stations that were closed, João Ferreira does not forget the promises of those who closed them. ” They didn’t say that the police stations dated, but that the police kept the same on the street. But that’s what happened,” he notes.
The result of these years, underlined, is that “neither police stations, nor, in many of these places, police or at least with the regularity occupied”.
João Ferreira recognizes that Carlos Moedas has even supported that this situation “is a problem, he has even defended the reopening of police stations, although we have many differences that it is through those vans, mobile police stations, that the problem will be solved”. The mayor, says the PCP councilor, needs to understand that, “in some cases, it is even necessary to reopen the police stations that have closed”. And there is an example, the police station in Carnide, which, for João Ferreira, it does not make sense to remain closed: “The police station closed due to lack of conditions, but the space belongs to the council! works and create conditions for the police station to reopen quickly”.
Beatriz Gomes Dias, from BE, asks, like the PCP, for a “proximity response, a proximity police”, but understands that only “response to problems, with robust social policies, reduce some perceptions that may exist in certain territories of the city”.
The blockade councilor notes that there are several Lisbons in an “unequal city and that it is unequally policed”. Or “there are territories where policing can become a state of exception and others it is a policing of proximity and pedagogy.”
Rui Tavares, from Livre, uses precise statistics to say that “Liboa is a security”, but warns that “there are categories of crime to be aware of” and that appear in Homeland Security reports. “Some group, juvenile delinquency, criminality originating from hate.
Inês Drummond, councilor for the PS, only mentioned that “security is not a serious problem to be faced in Lisbon”.
Throughout the week, the DN assesses the state of the city of Lisbon, one year after Carlos Moedas was elected to the Chamber’s leadership. Tomorrow’s theme will be Housing and Tourism.