Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 26th October 2022
Good morning – It has been a very busy couple of weeks at Safe Communities Portugal starting with Antonia Vignolo (newly elected management board member) and myself attending the seminar in Loule to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction. This was a full day seminar with some very interesting presentations and an opportunity to discuss relevant issues with Patricia Gaspar Secretary of State for Civil Protection the Mayor of Loule and others in the audience. There was much focus of climate change and what steps need to be taken by governments and local authorities the help safeguard communities.
On 18th October 2022, David Thomas, President of Safe Communities Portugal gave a presentation at the “Urban Security – Municipalities and the Protection of Public Space Conference” held at the Convento São Francisco, Coimbra.
This two day event, attended by around 300 people, comprised mainly police and Government officials as well as universities and municipalities, was organised by the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI). The Minister of Internal Administration José Luís Carneiro and Secretary of State Isabel Oneto gave addresses at the close of the conference.
The topic which David presented under the six thematic areas, was: “Delivering Police Services using advanced technology”, specifically: “Use of Apps in assisting in the delivery of police services” and “Overseas experiences in the use of police body worn cameras (BWCs)”.
These are both topical issues concerning policing generally, in particular “body worn cameras”, which the government are planning to introduce for police in Portugal shortly. The last law to be introduced was at the end of 2021 covering the circumstances on when they can be used and issues such as privacy and the rights of both police officers and the public. David’s presentation drew upon overseas experiences, particularly in UK, Australia and USA who have used them for many years. The presentation included observations regarding their use, for government to consider in the development, introduction and roll out. This will be published in this week’s English newspapers, the Portugal News and Algarve Resident.
This was also an opportunity to meet with both the Minister of Internal Administration José Luís Carneiro and Secretary of State Isabel Oneto concerning sharing of overseas experiences, the framework of the Urban Security conference and the Local Security Contracts CLS program.
Yesterday I attended the Seminar at the Regional Tourism Algarve in Faro to conclude the policing reinforcement period from 1st July to 15th September for the Algarve. During this period there are various programs put in place and a greater visibility of police through increased numbers, to deal with the considerable increase in tourists. Presentations were made by the GNR, PSP, ANSR (Road safety authority) and SEF as well as an address by the Minister of Internal Administration.
The figures were presented showing a decrease in road accidents from 1st January to September, compared to the same period of 2019 as well as fewer deaths. The average time to resolve fires was 54 minutes. Of the 209 fire incidents in the Algarve so far this year, 204 were dominated within 90 minutes. On the crime front there was a slight increase in overall crime during the year but a reduction in serious crime compared to 2021.
A reminder that from yesterday all dogs, cats and ferrets must have and identification microchips. On the official page of the Companion Animal Information System (SIAC), where the animals have to be registered, there is the indication of the “mandatory identification of cats and ferrets”, and that “from October 25, 2022, the transitional period ends, and the mandatory identification of all cats and ferrets, regardless of their date of birth”. More details can be found here:
The Minister of Internal Administration announced yesterday that the GNR will take control of all maritime border posts, including cruise terminals, as part of the transfer of powers from the SEF to the GNR. Within the scope of the restructuring process of the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF), according to the 2021 law that establishes the transfer of powers to the PSP and GNR, the control of cruise terminals would pass to the competence of the Public Security Police, but this will no longer happen, with the National Republican Guard in control of the entire maritime border. I discussed this with a GNR officer yesterday and he agreed this makes senses to ensure a standardized and consistent approach. The date of the introduction has not yet been announced.
Lastly with wetter weather around a reminder to take care on the roads, check tyres and wipers are in good order and use the lights in rain and poor visibility.
Have a safe week ahead
News:
Health misinformation has become an “infodemic” fuelled by covid-19
Health disinformation has escalated with covid-19, a digital “true infodemic” that must be fought through an alliance between public authorities, industry and civil society, warns the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The dimension of this problem and the potential danger to human life became evident with the covid-19 pandemic and forced interested parties to seek more creative, effective and collaborative solutions” , says the manual, to combat misinformation in health and WHO non-communicable diseases, by the Portuguese Francisco Goiana-da-Silva, Francisco de Abreu Duarte and João Marecos.
These types of diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and respiratory diseases, are responsible for almost 90% of all deaths in the WHO European region, covering 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, most of which avoidable.
The document is the result of three conferences organized by the WHO – Agência Lusa participated in one of these meetings – on the subject and intends to be a manual to help build a set of tools and policy initiatives to combat disinformation in the health area.
“Despite constant warnings from different national and international public authorities, health misinformation continues to increase” , warns the document, advancing that, according to a 2018 survey, half of European Union residents sought health information ‘online’ in 2017, a number that has nearly doubled since 2008.
“This points to a growing trend in which increasingly digitally literate young people seek diagnoses, help and advice through internet searches and self-help tools, and also rely on internet articles as reliable sources of health information”, stresses the manual.
The WHO also emphasizes that, although there are several positive aspects in increasing access to information, this can lead to often worrying results, witnessing an “infodemic” that must be fought through a common and aligned strategy of all parties. .
According to the document, the covid-19 pandemic thus represents a “great opportunity to test how different stakeholders can come together to combat” health disinformation.
This is at a time when “more and more individuals obtain their health information from digital places”, such as search engines or social media platforms, often with incorrect and inaccurate information, which can lead to consequences such as a harmful lifestyle, self-medication, medical treatment abandonment or misdiagnosis.
The document points to the example of several reports of a potential link between autism and vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella that can still be found online, despite having been proven false by numerous scientific studies.
WhatsApp features reset after more than two hours down
The WhatsApp application, a messaging platform that belongs to Meta (owner of the social networks Facebook and Instagram), was down for thousands of users, according to complaints filed this Tuesday morning on the DownDetector page . However, after 10 am, service began to return to normal.
The DownDetector website , which monitors the unavailability of digital services taking into account the information shared by users themselves, has reported more than 3,500 complaints in Portugal since approximately 7:45 am this Tuesday.
The page also has a map where it is possible to verify that the failures reached Portugal, with the majority being registered in the two largest cities in the country, Lisbon and Porto.
On Twitter, DownDetector indicates that the problems on Whatsapp started at 7:17 am (Portuguese time).
The problems didn’t just happen in Portugal. The press particularly reports complaints from users in India, where, according to the website, there were over 20,000 complaints.
Closer to home, in Spain the complaints also surpassed 20,000 and in the United Kingdom, 60,000.
However, around 10:00 am some users started to have access – albeit intermittently – to Whatsapp and, at the moment (10:20 am), it seems that all features have been restored.
So far there is no official statement or note from Meta.
Algarve will have 60 new police officers and two new teams at the airport – PSP
Faro, Oct 25, 2022 (Lusa) – The Faro command of the PSP will now have 60 more personnel, a reinforcement that will allow the creation of two new rapid intervention teams in the security division of Faro Airport, the district commander revealed today.
According to Dário Prates, the PSP currently has 835 agents in the Algarve, a number that has now been reinforced with the opening of 60 new vacancies.
The official was speaking during a ceremony at the command of Faro of the PSP, chaired by the Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, which was also attended by part of the 60 agents who will perform duties in Faro, 45 of whom are already working in command. .
The entry of new agents will allow the creation of two new rapid intervention teams for the airport, increasing the capacity for rapid reaction and intervention throughout the command, already anticipating the new tasks that the PSP will assume in the scope of border control, said Dário Prates.
Stressing that the means are always “by definition, scarce”, the official praised, however, the “very positive response” within the scope of the identified needs, pointing out airport security and proximity policing as two of the main axes to bet with this reinforcement.
Some of the police officers stationed in Faro are still attending specialization courses, among others, and the presentation of most of the new agents “will take place in the coming weeks”.
The agents who will start working in the airport division will now have a specific training phase ahead, he added.
Also according to Dário Prates, only 7% of the staff of the PSP’s Faro district command is female, with the average age of the agents being 47.8 years.
At the ceremony, José Luís Carneiro noted that this reinforcement “is only possible due to the placement of 900 new police officers who have now completed their training”.
According to the official, the increase in the number of agents and the creation of two new teams at Faro Airport “integrate a wider set of restructuring measures” that will be taken.
The Minister of Internal Administration also recalled that there is a planned investment of 600 million euros until 2026, aimed, in particular, at the modernization of infrastructure and the acquisition of equipment.
COMMENT Safe Communities Portugal attended the ceremony