Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 12th June 2024
Good morning. We start with “Portugal Day”. The President of the Republic announced that one of the objectives of the Portugal Day celebrations, which began in Pedrógão Grande, is to remember the “double tragedy” of the 2017 fires and protect the future. To journalists, Marcelo stated that the objective of this year’s Portugal Day celebrations “is to draw attention to the double tragedy of June and October 2017”.
The fire that broke out on June 17, 2017 in Pedrógão Grande, in the district of Leiria, and which spread to neighbouring municipalities, caused 66 deaths and more than 250 injuries, seven of which were serious, and destroyed half a thousand homes and 50 businesses.
The official commemoration began on Sunday morning, at the Memorial in Homage to the Victims of the 2017 Forest Fires, with the ceremony of raising the national flag, followed by a tribute to the victims of the 2017 forest fires. In the morning, a mass was held in Figueiró dos Vinhos dedicated to the victims”. We will be covering the 7th anniversary of the Pedrógão Grande Fire on 17th June.
Of concern is data from the European drug report released yesterday, that the drug landscape is changing in Europe, with more potent synthetic opioid substances, new mixtures of products and changes in consumption patterns. These changes are causing a growing threat and increasing public health problems, concludes the “European Drug Report 2024 – Trends and Developments”, released today in Lisbon by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
One of the main dangers is the fact that “with poorly sold products (often on the Internet and with adulterated substances), consumers may not be aware of what they are consuming and may be subject to greater health risks, including potentially fatal poisoning,” the report highlights. Disturbing is that at the end of 2023, the EMCDDA was monitoring more than 950 new psychoactive substances, 26 of which were reported for the first time in Europe that year.
Turning to the weather we highlight the incident involving a flight from Palma De Mallorca to Vienna which was damaged when it flew thru a severe hail storm. The flight landed in Vienna at 17:59 CEST after one hour and 59 minutes of flight. No injuries reported. The aircraft sustained significant damage to its nose, windshields, and other forward-facing surfaces due to intense hail strike during the flight. Despite the turbulence and extensive damage, the plane managed to land safely on runway 11 at Vienna International Airport.
We highlight this because intense hailstorms seem to be more frequently occurring and can cause considerable damage and harm. An example yesterday from ESTOFEX Storm Forecast was their report for Romania stating that, the weather “environment is conducive for destructive hail with diameter well above 5 cm”. If intense hail is forecast then we advise people to be aware and prepared, and take cover as well as protecting property.
The annual Global Peace Index was published yesterday afternoon. Portugal ranks seventh among the safest countries in the world, decreasing one place compared with last year (last year’s placing readjusted from 7th to 6th), and is also the fifth safest country in the European Union. A total of 163 countries surveyed. Of concern however is that according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, there are 56 active conflicts around the world with more than 90 countries involved in cross-border wars that have already forced 110 million people to leave their homes. The world has become less peaceful for the 12th time, with peace deteriorating in more than 90 countries.
Our team from Safe Communities wish you a safe and enjoyable week ahead
News
International police meeting brings together security forces from around the world in Oeiras
Police officers from several countries will exchange experiences at a meeting in Oeiras. Labour rights, artificial intelligence and the decriminalization of drugs in Portugal are among the topics under debate.
Portugal was the country chosen to host the 14th meeting of the International Council for Police Representative Associations, a body representing millions of police officers worldwide.
Between this Tuesday and the 14th, members of the security forces from several countries will debate the main challenges of the class in Paço de Arcos, Oeiras.
Speaking to SIC, Armando Ferreira, president of the National Police Union (SINAPOL) explains that “labour rights, but also matters related to police exchange and police knowledge” will be discussed at this meeting.
For example, at this year’s meeting the national authorities will “explain to all foreign representatives how the decriminalization of drug use works in Portugal”.
Among the topics under discussion will also be the use of artificial intelligence for the police service, the use of electric vehicles and examples of “successes and failures of the police mission”.
Luís Carrilho, national director of the PSP, also highlights an “important initiative” to promote dialogue between unions and police associations from an international point of view.
Asked if this could be a summer of protests and possibly some strikes by the security forces, Luís Carrilho says he trusts the police.
“We are all with a mission spirit, committed to providing a good quality of life in terms of safety for the population who live in Portugal or who choose Portugal to come and spend their holidays.”
More potent synthetic substances, new drugs and consumption changes pose growing threat to health
Lisbon, June 11, 2024 (Lusa) – The drug landscape is changing in Europe, with more potent synthetic opioid substances, new mixtures of products and changes in consumption patterns, data from the European drug report reveal.
These changes are causing a growing threat and increasing public health problems, concludes the “European Drug Report 2024 – Trends and Developments”, released today in Lisbon by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
This observatory begins on July 2nd a new mandate with reinforced and more comprehensive powers, given the new challenges that have arisen in the area of trafficking, consumption and new substances.
The document, which presents data from the previous year from the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU), Turkey and Norway, highlights that consumers are more exposed to “a wider range” of psychoactive substances, “often of high potency or purity, or in new forms, mixtures and combinations”.
“With poorly sold products (often on the Internet and with adulterated substances), consumers may not be aware of what they are consuming and may be subject to greater health risks, including potentially fatal poisoning.”
This is the case of heroin, which continues to be the most consumed opioid in Europe and responsible for a “significant part” of health problems, with the European market being “increasingly complex”, with a variety of synthetic substances that are causing concern.
The report highlights concerns around potent synthetic opioids, sometimes misused or mixed with medicines and other drugs, as well as MDMA (ecstasy) adulterated with synthetic cathinones (stimulants) and cannabis products adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids.
At the end of 2023, the EMCDDA was monitoring more than 950 new psychoactive substances, 26 of which were reported for the first time in Europe that year.
A message from this year’s report goes to polydrug consumption: two or more psychoactive substances at the same time or in sequence, often mixed with alcohol.
The growing opioid problem in Europe appears with an “emerging threat” called nitazenes (synthetic opioid 40 times stronger than fentanyl and 140 times more powerful than morphine), which has expanded throughout the world and which has caused last four years more than 200 deaths.