Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 12th October 2022
By David Thomas
Good morning – We start the day with some good news – that the GNR and PSP will have an increase in basic remuneration, between 10.9% and 12.7%, plus an increase in the supplement for service and risk in the security forces, between 18.13 and 21.54 euros from January next year.
Police salaries in Portugal are the lowest in Western Europe and this long overdue increase will go some way in reflecting the difficult and often dangerous work that they do. It is good to see that the highest percentage increase will be for junior front line agents.
On Monday evening heavy rain in Lisbon resulted in 170 occurrences recorded mainly as a result of flooding and downed trees. The emergency services reported that most of the floods have to do with small clogs in downpipes and guttering. With the winter approaching this is an appropriate reminder to clear your guttering and drainage pipes of any blocked debris accumulated over the last months. Pay attention to the weather forecasts as some of these rain storms can be intense accompanied by hail and wind gusts.
Yesterday we posted on our Facebook page that the GNR Emergency Protection and Relief Unit had rescued a woman who had fallen in the Portela do Homem waterfall. She was rescued and received medical treatment. Please be aware that with recent rains in some areas some walking routes maybe unstable after a long period of dry weather.
Take care therefore when hiking in particular: crossing areas with water as they are rather slippery; avoid dangerous areas; do not be distracted by the cell phone and if you have children with you ensure that the route is safe for them. Remember to wear appropriate footwear and ensure you know the route and that your cell phone is full charged.
At Safe Communities we are about to enter a rather busy period as far as our activities are concerned. Yesterday I participated in the 4th FirEUrisk Plenary Meeting, an EU Programme aimed at developing, assessing, and promoting a science-based integrated strategy to improve existing wildland fire risk assessment, create efficient methods to reduce fire risk and adapt management strategies for future climate and socioeconomic changes.
It was a very interesting session with excellent presentations from civil protection/wild fire experts in Greece, France and Spain as well as a European representative on the situation major wild fires that have taken place in Europe this year. Safe Communities is part of the Observatory formed as part of this programme.
On 13th October Antonia Vignolo and myself have been invited to the VIII Seminar “Civil Protection and the Community”, in Loule, a forum that marks International Day for Disaster Reduction.
On 17th October Lilia Martins, SCP board member and I will attend an EU Horizon consortium meeting and on 15th and 19th October, I will be travelling to Coimbra where I have been invited to speak at the Urban Security conference organised by the Ministry of Internal Administration. The Coimbra Conference is an important moment for sharing experiences and for debate between Portuguese Municipalities, the Security Forces and Services and the Internal Administration on issues related to Urban Security. I last spoke at this conference in 2019 and this occasion my topic will fall under the general heading of “Policing: New Technologies Potential and Challenges”
We then have a few days break before the Mediterranean Garden Fair on 29th and 30th October in Estoi, where we will have stand, where Antonia, Mike Evans and myself will be very pleased to see you. More details on our Facebook page.
As you can see it can be a busy life at Safe Communities Portugal.
With that please have a Safe week
News
Christian Brückner, the German suspect in the Maddie McCann case, has been charged with five new sexual crimes committed in Portugal
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been charged in Germany with unrelated sexual offences.
German prosecutors say the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is ongoing separately.
Christian Brückner, suspected of the murder of the British girl Madeleine “Maddie” McCann, has been charged in Germany with five new sexual crimes, allegedly committed between December 28, 2000 and June 11, 2017 in Portugal.
“The accused is the same person against whom accusations were made in connection with the disappearance of the 3-year-old British girl Madeleine Beth McCann,” the Braunschweig prosecutor’s office said in a statement, which explained that three crimes of aggravated rape and two of abuse of minors.
The charges in full:
- At some point between 2000 and 2006: The rape of an unidentified woman aged between 70 and 80 in a holiday home in Portugal
- At some point between 2000 and 2006: The rape of a German-speaking girl believed to have been at least 14 years old in his home in Praia da Luz
- 2004: The rape of a 20-year-old Irish woman after entering her apartment in Praia da Rocha
- 2007: The sexual abuse of a 10-year-old German girl on a beach in Salema, Faro
- 2017: The sexual abuse of an 11-year-old Portuguese girl in a playground in Bartolomeu de Messines
In a statement, the prosecutor in Braunschweig, Germany, said: “The investigation concerning the case of Madeleine McCann is ongoing separately from these charges.
“Due to the ongoing investigation the prosecution cannot at the current time give any information on the status of that investigation.”
In June 2020, the prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig (in the center of the country) opened a case against 44-year-old Brückner, based on “material evidence” for the kidnapping and murder of Madeleine McCann.
Maddie disappeared from the tourist apartment that her family rented in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on the night of May 3, 2007, when she was 3 years old, taken from the room where she slept with two other brothers.
National Cyber Defence Strategy to be approved “soon”
Lisbon, Oct 11, 2022 (Lusa) – The Minister of Defence, Helena Carreiras, said today that the National Cyber Defence Strategy should be approved “soon” and that “all allies recognize” Portugal “an “exemplary response capacity” in this area.
“(…) problems all allies face. This does not define our reliability. What defines it is our resilience and ability to implement solutions to these problems and, on this point, I assure you that all Allies recognize Portugal as an exemplary response capacity”, defended Helena Carreiras.
The minister is being heard in a regimental hearing of the Defence Commission, in the Assembly of the Republic, which will be followed by a hearing behind closed doors on the recent cyberattacks on the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA), which led to the exfiltration of classified NATO documents, potentially required by the PSD.
Anticipating this topic a little, Helena Carreiras referred to the efforts made in terms of cyber defence, noting that “in terms of technological capacity, investments within the framework of the LPM [Military Programming Law] have allowed improvements to be achieved and we plan to reinforce this line of investment in permanent update”.
“We hope that the National Cyber-Defence Strategy can be approved soon by the Council of Ministers”, he added.
The official also stressed that “the cyber security of any organization and its ability to act depend primarily on its human resources”.