Month: May 2014

On 2nd May 2014 a dispute arose between customers at the Casa de Pasto a Moagram restaurant on the EN125 in Alcantarilha, which resulted in a 30 year old man being stabbed twicce in the back with a ktchen knife. The owner of the restaurant a lady aged 60 years was also injured when she tried to intervene.

The victim is believed to be an off duty security guard at a night club in Albufeira. The victims were taken to hospital and the Judicial Police have opened an investigation for Attempted Murder. Customers were questioned and two persons aged about 20 years subject to formal interrogation by the Judicial Police.

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On 2nd May 2014 SEF arrested a foreigner aged 32 years accompanied with her daughter, who was about to board a plane en-route to Toronto, Canada.

The arrested person was using a false passport and was an illegal immigrant in Portugal.

The arrested person appeared before the Tribunal Judicial in Faro, was fined and is being deported.

On 2nd May 2014 following an investigation GNR Olhao arrested a man aged 21 years wanted in connection with burglaries in a number of houses.

During the GNR operation two houses were searched and a number of stolen items including a computer, watches and Hi Fi equipment were recovered. The items were believed stolen from houses in the Rio Formosa area close to Olhao.

 

Today 3rd May 2014 marks the 103 rd Anniversary of the founding of the GNR.

The GNR have commemorated this by opening their barracks Carmo (Lisbon) to the public.  So far 16,869 people have visited. The barracks and exhibitions are open until 11th May from 100 to 18000 hrs each day.

Besides the exhibition, you can still visit the Museum of GNR, watch historical recreations (medieval characters and fights) etc. For the amusement of the children the GNR will show their dogs and horses, and even our mascots: the “Guardoo”; the “Guardoo” and “Guard Nature.” We await you!

In Loule on 3rd May 2014 the GNR will hold a display of their various work and responsibilities by the Municipal Council Building from 1000 to 1300 hrs.

 

The crime prevention displays held by Safe Communities Algarve, the GNR and PSP police during the Easter period proved popular with over 400 people visiting the stands at Praia da Luz, Praia da Rocha and Algarve Shopping Guia.

As part of the displays tourists were asked to rate how “safe” or “unsafe” did they consider the Algarve as a tourist destination, as well as the level of safety when going out at night. Of the 250 people from 16 different countries surveyed, 89.2 % rated the Algarve as “very safe”, 10% as “safe” and only 0.8% as “not safe”. As far as going out at night time were concerned 80% considered it “very safe”, 18.4 % as “safe” and 1.6%” as “not safe”.

Many of the tourists spoken to stated that they considered the Algarve was much safer than their own countries with many examples given. Some expressed concern that any disturbance late at night they encountered on holiday here was from fellow tourists mainly young people who were drunk.

Another interesting trend was that all the Portuguese tourists who participated in the survey opined that the area was much safer than Lisbon and Porto (where they were living), an observation borne out by recent crime statistics.

The displays also gave visitors an opportunity to learn more about the work of the PSP police and the GNR Safe Residence Programme. The GIPS display at Algarve Shopping proved popular with youngsters in particular, with the opportunity to dress up in GIPS uniform and sit in their “emergency” vehicle.

David Thomas President of SCA commented: “I am not surprised by the results of the survey. A number of visitors who have been coming on holiday here for many years noted that they felt more secure than they did a number of years ago, a perception that is reflected in actual recorded crime which is at a 12 year low”.  Of course there are a few crimes that will make media headlines but these have to be seen in the broader context”

“One area where more emphasis is required is to reduce the level of disturbance caused by some tourists who become so drunk that they pose a risk to themselves, annoyance to other holiday makers and unnecessary extra work for the police. More education is required in respect of this in the lead up to the summer holiday period”.