Portugal Safety and Security report Wednesday 5^th February 2025

Good afternoon. You may have noticed from our Facebook post yesterday, that following meetings with the GNR and PSP, we have appointed two persons to represent our work in the area of Caldas da Rainha, where there is a sizable and growing foreign community. Our representatives Janet and Martin Searle are volunteers who are keen to serve the community in supporting and promoting the work of the GNR and PSP.

Primarily this supporting role includes: fostering further engagement between the foreign community and PSP and GNR, the joint organisation of activities, helping to promote the work of the PSP and GNR including any key messages they wished to communicate to the public, and raising with the GNR and PSP any safety/security issues of local concern. For those living in the Caldas da Rainha area including Obidos, any local issues can be raised with Safe Communities at caldas@safecommunitiesportugal.com

If you are keen to help as a volunteer in a similar capacity in your area, Safe Communities is keen to hear from you. We can be contacted at info@safecommunitiesportugal.com

EUROPOL warned a few days ago of the growing problem of the online trafficking of counterfeit medicines. In 2024 Operation SHIELD V removed more than €11 million in illegal drugs from the market, involving 418 arrests and the dismantling of several criminal networks. They warn that: buying medicines in unauthorized and controlled locations puts your health at risk and funds organized crime. Selling sub-standard, falsely labelled, or falsified pharmaceutical products, as well as products diverted from the legal supply chain, organised crime networks are behind a wide range of illicit medicines and doping substances. EUROPOL’S advice is to be responsible and protect yourself from this type of fraud, and avoid unverified selling platforms especially on social media.

Some good news this week is the is the dismantling  in Spain by the Guardia Civil police of a very violent group that targeted luxury homes in Spain and Portugal. The group is suspects of a two million euros in watches, jewellery and cash armed robbery in Vilamoura, Algarve, in earlier January and also suspected of an attempted robbery at a house in Faro at the end of last year. It is believed that the value of the recovered objects, could exceed 10 million euros and until now 16 crimes committed in Cádiz, Málaga, Seville, Córdoba, Murcia, Alicante and Portugal have been clarified. The operation has led to the arrest of the seven main members of the group, all of Albanian origin, and the recovery of various stolen items. This is a good example of excellent international police cooperation.

With the colder weather especially overnight, a reminder of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in the home. Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, coal and wood do not burn fully. Gas, oil, coal and wood are sources of fuel used in many household appliances, including: boilers, gas fires, central heating systems, water heaters, cookers and open fires. Incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated household appliances, such as cookers, heaters and central heating boilers, are the most common causes of accidental exposure to carbon monoxide.

Other possible causes of carbon monoxide poisoning include: blocked flues and chimneys – this can stop carbon monoxide escaping, allowing it to reach dangerous levels or burning fuel in an enclosed or unventilated space – for example, running a car engine, petrol-powered generator inside a garage, or a faulty boiler in an enclosed kitchen.

It is important to be aware of the dangers and identify any appliances in your house that could potentially leak carbon monoxide. Boilers, cookers, heating systems and appliances should be installed and regularly serviced by a reputable, registered engineer. Do not attempt to install or service appliances yourself. Install a carbon monoxide alarm in your home to alert you if there’s a carbon monoxide leak. Make sure it’s approved to the latest European Standard (EN50291). However an alarm is not a substitute for maintaining and regularly servicing household appliances.

Our team at Safe Communities wish you a safe week ahead.

News

Everything that happens anywhere in Europe concerns all Europeans, says Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

“Our borders are the borders of our European partners and brothers. What concerns them concerns us”, said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, during an official visit to the Czech Republic.

The President of the Republic described the current situation as “very sensitive” this Wednesday, particularly in the area of ​​security, and argued that “everything that happens anywhere in Europe concerns all Europeans”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was speaking at the Kaiserstein Palace in Prague during a meeting with representatives of the Portuguese community in the Czech Republic, where he arrived this Wednesday and will stay until Thursday, for an official visit, at the invitation of the Czech President, Petr Pavel.

According to the head of state, this visit — like others planned for March to Estonia and Slovenia — “has a special significance” because it takes place at a “very sensitive time for the world and for Europe, and in particular for security on the European continent”.

“Of course, everything that happens anywhere in Europe concerns all Europeans,” he said, noting that this is also the position of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and his predecessor and current President of the European Council, António Costa.

“Our borders are the borders of our European partners and brothers. What concerns them concerns us. It is not the fact that we are further away or closer that takes away the meaning of solidarity at all levels,” he added.

For the President of the Republic, this official visit to the Czech Republic will be an opportunity to analyze the current situation in Europe “bringing together different points of view, from a more regional perspective, in one case, and from a more universal perspective, in the other”.

The Czech Republic, a member of NATO since 1999 and of the European Union since 2004, has as its President Petr Pavel, a retired general, who chaired the NATO Military Committee between 2015 and 2018 and before that, between 2012 and 2015, was Chief of Staff of the Czech Armed Forces.

SNS 24 line answered more than 500 thousand calls in January

The president of the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Health said that the institution “does not identify” with the waiting times experienced on SNS 24 lines during the Christmas and New Year period.

The SNS 24 Line reached a new high in January with more than 500,000 calls answered, the president of the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Health’s Shared Services (SPMS) announced this Tuesday.

The assessment was made by Sandra Cavaca, who was being heard by the parliamentary Health committee at the request of the PS about access to emergency services and the failures that occurred in recent weeks.

According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the use of the SNS 24 line has been increasing and in January a new high was reached with more than 500 thousand calls answered.

In response to socialist MP Susana Correia, who expressed concern about the impact of the line on improving the provision of health care, Sandra Cavaca recalled that in 2024, 3.5 million calls were answered, with an average waiting time of three minutes.

The “significant growth” compared to 2023 was possible due to the reinforcement of the response capacity which, according to the person in charge, almost doubled, but Sandra Cavaca recognizes that there are “specific situations” that impact waiting times.

At Christmas time , between the 23rd and 27th of December, for example, more than 91 thousand calls were answered , registering an increase of 131% compared to the same period of the previous year, and despite the increase in the number of professionals, the average waiting time was around nine minutes , with 72% of calls being answered within 15 minutes.

Between December 30th and January 3rd, the SNS 24 line answered 96 thousand calls, 112% more than in the same period in 2023, with an average response time of 11 minutes.

“ SPMS does not agree with these results , it is not what satisfies us, but it is to resolve these situations that we work in partnership with our operator to improve these times and reach the satisfaction we had in the past”, he said.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 29^th January 2025

Good morning everyone. We start with the results of a study in the journal Nature Medicine that an increase in global average temperature of between 3 and 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century would lead to the death of 2.3 million people in Europe due to heat.

The study published on Monday, which modelled the impact of rising global average temperatures on 854 urban areas in 30 European countries, reveals that some of the most affected cities would be Spanish cities such as Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Valencia.

The researchers considered three temperature scenarios: one in which the Paris Agreement to combat climate change is met and global temperatures do not rise more than 2 degrees by the end of the century; another in which they rise between 2 and 3 degrees; and a third, of between 3 and 4 degrees of increase by the end of the century, which is where we are heading according to the current emissions trajectory.

The good news is that researchers found that in the most optimistic scenario, in which emissions are reduced and the Paris Agreement is implemented, limiting the increase in global average temperature to 2 degrees by the end of the century, 70% of deaths from high temperatures could be avoided. These findings however, do not take into account the President of the US Donald Trump’s intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and the impact this may have in climate change adaptation.

World leaders and dozens of Holocaust survivors gathered Monday at the former site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation by Soviet troops at the end of World War II. The ceremony is regarded as the likely last major observance of Auschwitz’s liberation that any notable number of survivors will be able to attend, due to their advanced ages.

Dozens of world leaders and dignitaries attended the ceremony, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain’s King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron, but all were asked by organizers not to speak at the ceremony. Instead survivors of the holocaust spoke instead some decrying the rise of the far right and increased antisemitism in Germany and beyond.

Remembering the Holocaust and learning from history, are critically important in the current context, characterised by antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and distortion and trivialisation of history, caused or amplified by digital technology, social media, and foreign interference and propaganda.

As is normal this time of the year, rough seas along our coastlines become more intense and frequent. Today Wednesday from 1800 hrs to 1200 tomorrow all coastal districts will raise the red level warning, the highest on a scale of four levels. Waves of 7 8 metres are expected with a maximum of 15 metres possible.

The authority’s advice, in these conditions, is to take special care in traffic along coastal roads and river areas historically more vulnerable to coastal flooding avoiding, if possible, movement and staying in these places; not to practice activities related to the sea, namely sport fishing, nautical sports and seaside walks; avoiding parking vehicles very close to the seashore and to pay attention to weather information and directions of Civil Protection and Security Forces.

Our team wish you a happy and safe week ahead.

News

Mayor of Lisbon wants more police in Lisbon to counter violence

Mayor Carlos Moedas insists that the capital needs “more PSP” and that the Municipal Police “can make arrests”, because, he argued, crimes may have decreased but “they have a different level of violence”.

The Mayor of Lisbon was not indifferent to the headline in the Diário de Notícias newspaper this Tuesday, which reported that crime in Lisbon has seen its second-largest drop in 10 years. A conclusion that does not reassure Mayor Carlos Moedas.

The crimes that are currently being committed in Lisbon have a different level of violence,” he said in a statement to journalists this afternoon, in which he gave specific examples: “Four rapes in one week,” a “triple homicide,” “armed robberies for a watch, it’s not normal.”

According to the newspaper, which cites provisional data from the Public Security Police (PSP), last year around 28 thousand crimes were reported, the third lowest number in the last 10 years and only surpassed by the years of the pandemic – 2020 and 2021. According to PSP figures, in the space of a year, registered crimes fell by more than 12% and crimes classified as violent and serious also fell by 10%.

However, these figures leave the mayor of Lisbon “concerned”: “It is good to know that the average has dropped, but when we look at the news and see, for example, the case of the parish of Santa Maria Maior in 2023, which presents the highest value of the decade. In other words, if they have dropped between 2023/2024, we cannot rest easy”.

“We have to see what is happening in the city. Last week there were four alleged rapes, this year we had a triple homicide at close range near Santa Apolónia. The crimes and the way they are committed, often in Lisbon with armed robberies to steal a watch, do you know how many are reported to me?”

“Lisbon is a safe city, but this news doesn’t mean we don’t have to say we need more police.

Cyberattacks: number of cases increased by 42% in 2023, most of the complaints are from private entities

This Tuesday marks International Data Protection Day. The University of Porto warns that there are increasing cyber threats to companies and reinforces the need to invest in security and protect information.

The company Águas do Porto suffered its first cyberattack in 2023. The danger alert was identified by the team at this operations management centre.

The next step was to use platforms like this one that identify daily threats and, after a house has been robbed, lock the door. This year, the municipal company entered into a partnership with the Cybersecurity and Privacy Centre of the University of Porto.

At the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Rolando Martins leads a team that works on identifying security weaknesses and gives consultancy sessions.

Systems are often used to deliberately attack customers in order to later see if they are well protected. The number of cyberattacks has increased and is expected to continue to grow.

In 2023 there was an increase in data breaches, a growth of 42% compared to 2022, the majority of complaints came from private entities.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 22^nd January 2025

Good morning.  We start the day with the tragic news that a couple and their two young children died in the house where they lived, in Vilar Formoso, in the municipality of Almeida, allegedly due to carbon monoxide inhalation. Although the cause of death has not been confirmed – we remind people once again on the care that needs to be taken when using heating equipment which can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Remember that many domestic accidents are due to the effect of carbon monoxide, a toxic gas, which is odourless and colourless. Most of such accident are at night time.

Remember before you go to bed or leave the house, check if you have turned off the heating equipment and ensure the room ventilated. Ensure that your heater is in good working order and for wood burning fires and heaters ensure the seals are checked periodically. If someone has symptoms of poisoning, contact the Poison Information Centre: 800 250 250 in an emergency – In serious cases contact 112.

We welcome the news that Albufeira (at long last) has a video monitoring system, which is operated by GNR and went into operation on December 30th, in time for the busy New Year’s Eve.  Installed in Baixa de Albufeira, on Avenida Sá Carneiro, and also in the Descobrimentos, Inatel, Três Palmeiras and Globo roundabouts, this ensures coverage of areas of the city with higher concentration of people, namely in the bar streets of Albufeira and Oura, as well as the main entrances.

Over the last few days we have experienced some heavy rain in the Azores, Madeira and the mainland resulting from Depression Garoe. The main areas affected were (as forecast) the Algarve and parts of the centre of the mainland. Orange level rain warnings were issued by the IPMA for the Algarve and Beja and SMS text messages were sent to residents and visitors to seven districts. The sending of SMS text messages is usually when the warnings are at red (maximum) level, but by issuing them earlier, this gives more advanced warning should it be decided to increase the warnings from orange to red.

 In addition the ANEPC issued a bulleting with the likely effects from the storm and preventive measure to be taken. Our association shared this advice to those who follow our Facebook Groups and main page. We remind everyone to study and follow this advice which is for everyone’s safety.

This is certainly not the last of the storms/depressions with the news that the latest storm has been named Éowyn by Met Office. It is forecast to bring strong winds to much of the UK on Friday and into Saturday. For Mainland Portugal, an associated front of strong activity is expected on Friday night and Saturday morning, affecting especially the north and central coast. We’ll update as more accurate forecasts will be published.

In Madeira in response to forecasts of worsening sea conditions, that pose the greatest risk on the coast of the Municipality of Santa Cruz, the situation was monitored by the municipality’s Firefighters in conjunction with SANAS (Madeiran Association for Safety at Sea). The measure, which has been implemented for some time, whenever adverse weather conditions occur, seeks to prevent risky behaviour on the part of people who choose to approach the coastline to view the waves, often putting their own lives at risk to take photographs (selfies). Of course this should not be necessary but unfortunately those who do not follow the advice, putting not only their lives at risk, but also those of rescuers.

Our team at Safe Communities wish you all a nice week ahead

News

More than 950 violations involving mobile phone use while driving detected in national campaign

Authorities recorded more than 950 mobile phone offences while driving in the road safety campaign “When driving, your mobile phone can wait”, which ended on Monday, it was announced today.

In a statement, the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) explains that this campaign, coordinated with the National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Public Security Police (PSP), took place between the 14th and 20th of January and aimed to alert drivers to the consequences of improper use of mobile phones while driving.

Authorities inspected more than 70,000 vehicles in person.

As part of the 2025 National Inspection Plan (PNF), the campaign involved the participation of the regional administration services of the Azores and Madeira and included awareness-raising actions by the ANSR, simultaneously with inspection operations by the GNR and PSP, in Batalha, Braga (two), Leiria and Seixal.

In total, security forces recorded 2,560 accidents, with nine fatalities, 34 serious injuries and 715 minor injuries.

Compared to the same period last year, there were 198 fewer accidents, three more fatalities, nine fewer serious injuries and 23 fewer minor injuries

In total, between in person and by radar, a total of 4.9 million vehicles were inspected during the campaign and 28 thousand infractions were detected.

During the campaign, 446 drivers and passengers were made aware and received messages about the consequences of using a mobile phone while driving, particularly the fact that drivers who use a mobile phone while driving are slower to recognise and react to dangers.

The authorities also warned drivers that using electronic devices while driving can make it difficult to interpret signs and lead to a lack of respect for the rules on giving way, particularly in relation to pedestrians.

Well-protected homes can be safe places against forest fires

Well-protected and maintained homes, with interventions at the building level and on adjacent land, can be safe places for the population in the face of forest fires, concluded a project led by researchers from the University of Coimbra (UC).

Speaking to Lusa, Miguel Almeida, lead researcher on the House Refuge project, said that traditional homes, when well designed and maintained, can serve as safe places in the event of a fire, as long as they are surrounded by adequate fuel management areas.

The researcher at the Forest Fire Studies Centre at ADAI (Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics), created more than 30 years ago in the Mechanical Engineering department at UC, noted, in this context, that one of the components of the project involved studying the management of fuels in the surroundings of buildings.

“What the legislation requires is that there be [around homes] a fuel management strip. It is not a strip without fuel or a strip with fuel cuts”, noted Miguel Almeida.

The researcher explained that these areas must therefore have plant species – complying with the rules that provide for a distance of five metres between each treetop, which doubles to ten metres in the case of pine or eucalyptus trees – so that the houses are not in open fields facing a surrounding forest area, which, if it were to happen, would be harmful, as it would increase the risk of them being hit by fires, due to the projection of sparks.

He recalled, in this regard, that, in the 2017 fires, a study carried out by ADAI found that around 61% of the homes affected were not affected because the flames had reached these homes, but rather by the projections of incandescent particles, which ended up destroying buildings that were unprepared to withstand fires, often entering through the roofs.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 15^th January 2025

Good morning everyone. We start with the tragic wildfires in Los Angeles which have killed 25 people so far, burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed at least 12,000 structures and forced the evacuation of more than 180,000 people.The worst fires the city has experienced. There are a number of factors that have facilitated the spread of the fires, such as the dry vegetation and the lack of rains, but in particular the winds with speeds up to 120 km/h.

Some may well ask what this has to do with Portugal. The fact is however, that Portugal has also been affected by wildfires with these factors, but nowhere to the same degree as in the Los Angeles fires. However what we see in the Los Angeles fires should be learning points for the future for many high risk fire countries, resulting from the effects of climate change and extreme weather conditions.

The fires in Los Angeles are burning with great intensity and as such they are very difficult to suppress by conventional firefighting means including the use of large tanker aircraft dropping many thousands of litres of fire retardant. In the end however, as we have seen in Portugal such as in the fires in October 2017, it will take a change of weather (namely a decrease in wind speed) that will allow firefighters to extinguish the fires.

Canada and Mexico have helped by sending firefighters to Los Angeles to assist and Portugal has, according to the Prime Minister, offered similar assistance, although there is no news of any response to this.

However, what is not helpful in times of crisis is the criticism by the President elect of California’s handling of the wildfires roaring around Los Angeles, as the state’s governor urged him to come to witness the damage in person. “The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols (politicians) have no idea how to put them out,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?” he wrote. The answer, however has nothing to with incompetence, it is simply that the fires cannot be put out because of the factors concerning intensity outlined above!

Turning to Facebook algorithms and notifications on feed. The Facebook algorithm does not always notify about our (SCP) posts to everyone at the same time. Sometimes you receive notifications in your feed days or weeks later. It is very important to always validate the date of the SCP post looking at the date/hour below the page name. If it’s from the same day, it will be there how many hours ago it was shared… if it’s from longer, it will say how old the post is! To help you a suggestion is to check/update your notifications settings for our page.

The PSP have recently issued a reminder of the “I AM HERE!” program for Adults which is aimed at people who, depending on age or pathology, may become disoriented or unconscious, even momentarily, on the public road.

 The ESTOU AQUI ADULTOS bracelet consists of a matte fabric ribbon and a metal plate with an alphanumeric code and the inscription “Call/Ligue 112”, as can be seen in the image. The bracelet is free, personal and non-transferable. To obtain a bracelet, you need to register in advance and then go to the chosen police station to collect and validate it. More information and place your order here: https://estouaquiadultos.mai.gov.pt/Pages/Home.htm?

Our team at Safe Communities wishes you all the best for the week ahead.

News

PSP raises awareness in schools about discrimination and hate crimes

One of the objectives of the operation is to alert young people that discriminatory acts often take the form of misdemeanours and, at times, reach the level of crime.

The PSP is carrying out awareness-raising actions in 2nd and 3rd cycle primary schools and secondary schools to prevent discrimination and hate crimes and to instil respect for differences.

The ‘Yes to Difference’ operation began this Monday and is part of the Safe School Program, an integrated model of community policing, until January 24 throughout the national territory, the Public Security Police (PSP) reports in a statement.

One of the objectives of the operation is to alert young people that discriminatory acts based on racial and ethnic origin, skin colour, nationality, ancestry and territory of origin or gender identity often take the form of administrative offenses and, sometimes, reach the level of crime.

The PSP calls for reports of situations of discrimination in schools or any other environment, and is also available, through the teams of the Escola Segura (EPES) program, to respond to any requests for intervention to be carried out in person or through the channel escolasegura@psp.pt.

The ‘Yes to Difference’ operation, carried out by EPES, has as its main objective the prevention of all forms of discrimination and the practice of hate crimes, instilling in the children and young people targeted by the actions respect for differences and Human Rights.

Through the EPES of the various commands, the PSP guarantees its security mission of preventing crime and delinquency, specifically aimed at preventing all forms of discrimination and the practice of hate crimes, it explains in the statement.

The National Strategy for Equality and Non-Discrimination 2018/2030, approved in 2018, is based on three action plans on non-discrimination: On the grounds of sex and equality between women and men, on preventing and combating all forms of violence against women, gender-based violence and domestic violence and on combating discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sexual characteristics (OIEC).

Liberal Initiative (LI) party wants to free police officers from administrative tasks to have them on the streets more

“Why do the administrative functions that currently exist in the police force have to be performed by police officers?” asked Rui Rocha, president of the Liberal Initiative, this Sunday.

The president of the Liberal Initiative, Rui Rocha, advocates freeing police officers from administrative tasks to put them more on the streets, this being an example of proposals on his list of candidates for the party leadership, presented this Sunday.

“We need more outreach work from the police and less spectacle. We need more police officers on the streets. And there is a question I want to ask: why do the administrative functions that exist in the police today have to be performed by police officers?” asked Rui Rocha.