Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 19th June 2024

Good morning everyone. We start with commemorating the Pedrógão Grande fires from 17^th to 24^th June 2017 when 66 people lost their lives – the worst fires in Portugal’s history,

The first report into the Pedrógrão Grande fire was completed in just 4 months and the lessons learned, served the basis of many improvements that have been made since then. Our association Safe Communities Portugal became involved in various working groups and meetings with various government officials, including from the newly formed AGIF, shortly afterwards to help develop some of the many recommendations that had been made.

Seven years later, the recent public interventions by local and national politicians on the occasion of the celebrations of Portugal Day, or the testimony of residents in the three municipalities most affected by the fires, coincide in the analysis that much still needs to be done in those territories in the centre of the country.

Depopulation, an ageing population, a lack of qualified jobs or forest management, communication failures, dangerous roads or deficient public services are, after all, problems that coincide with dozens of municipalities in the Portuguese interior.

The need for cohesion in the national territory is constantly reiterated, but in those territories this goal is slow to be fulfilled. The aggravating factor is that in the Pedrógão Grande area there was a deadly fire the likes of which had never been seen before, and as a result of its consequences, there are those who, to this day, are still waiting for a new house – at least four first homes are yet to be rebuilt – or who continue to seek medical help in the area of ​​mental health, because there are psychological traumas that do not go away and the sound of a fire engine siren heard throughout the mountains is causing the population to become restless once again.

Unfortunately we still here of examples where private land has not been cleaned and also government land, particularly roadsides in high risk areas. With increasing extreme weather conditions such as high temperatures, it is very easy for fires to start (by human hand) and to spread due to increased intensity. Each day we publish on this page the fire danger for each municipality as well as the Fire Weather Index (FWI) which is an indicator of the potential intensity of any fires which start.

This is very important as when the FWI level reaches 50 it is “extreme” which means it is extremely difficult to suppress by firefighters, and the only way the fire can be extinguished is by precipitation or a decrease in winds.

With that our team wishes you an enjoyable week ahead

News

AIMA processed 110,000 immigrant residency applications last month

The Migration and Asylum Agency processed 110,000 immigrant residency applications last month, a third of which were submitted by Brazilians.

In the first days of May, immigrants entering the country until April 30th who had presented the so-called expression of interest began to be notified by email to pay a mandatory fee to regularize the residence process.

The aim of the Migration and Asylum Agency (AIMA) was to speed up the many applications on the waiting list, but the immediate effect was the opposite. At the doors of AIMA, in Lisbon and Porto, long queues formed, day and night, with dozens of migrants complaining about the lack of explanations and, above all, about the delay in the processes, which in some cases had already lasted several years.

It is now known that, in just over a month, 110,000 pending requests were processed. The AIMA data was released this Monday by Diário de Notícias Brasil, which also states that a third of those who paid the fee, equivalent to 33 thousand people, are Brazilians.

The 110,000 requests processed represent a decrease in the approximately 400,000 processes inherited from the former SEF (Foreigners and Borders Service). The notification of immigrants took place before the end of the expression of interest announced two weeks ago by the current government.

New bridge over the Guadiana awaiting the Spanish government

The Andalusian Junta expressed support for the connection between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar and will request a meeting with the Madrid executive and Portuguese authorities. Funded by the PRR, the project must be completed by June 2026. The Iberian Summit scheduled for October could unlock the process

When we talk about projects that are taking place in Portugal, the first idea that will come to most people’s minds is that of the new Lisbon airport. But this is by no means a unique case. Further south, there has been talk for decades of a new bridge over the Guadiana River, between Alcoutim, in the Algarve, and Sanlúcar, in Andalusia.

The project is now included in the PRR but, to be built with these funds, it must be ready by June 2026. And, with time passing, the danger of it not being implemented begins to loom. And it’s Spain’s fault.

There are more and more Portuguese people wanting to donate their bodies to science

More and more Portuguese people declare that they want to donate their bodies to science after death. After a sharp drop in 2020, the number of donation intentions is back to pre-pandemic values.

For medical students and researchers, dissecting a human cadaver is a privilege, but studying the dead depends on the initiative of the living. The number of body donations for scientific purposes dropped sharply with the arrival of the pandemic, but has since increased and is now back to pre-COVID-19 levels.

According to Jornal de Notícias, in the last five years, public colleges registered 4,478 intention processes. In other words, almost 4,500 Portuguese people formally expressed their desire to donate their bodies for scientific purposes upon death. As for dead bodies actually received, there were 618 between 2019 and 2023.

The Portuguese Anatomical Society is grateful for the generosity of donors, who contribute to the medical training of thousands of students and health professionals. However, experts point out gaps in the law that regulates donations, which dates back to 1999. For example, there is a lack of standardization in which situations faculties can refuse a body or how cadavers should be preserved.

The process for expressing a wish to donate is simple. The future donor, who is of legal age, fills out a form provided by the medical school of his or her choice, whether public or private. The declaration must be notarized, but, as a general rule, all costs are borne by the school. The wish must also be shared with family and friends, who will have to inform the institution of any possible death.

Most colleges also have agreements with funeral agencies that allow them to guarantee all the celebrations that the family desires, or that the family requested during their lifetime, before handing over the body to science.

 

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 12^th 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 7^th anniversary of the Pedrógão Grande Fire on 17^th 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.

 

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 5^th June 2024

Good morning everyone. On Monday the Council of Ministers debated and adopted the Government’s action plan for migration, which aims to correct the serious problems inherited in the entry rules into Portugal, to resolve the more than 400 thousand outstanding issues, to ensure the operability of border control systems and dignity and humanism in the integration of immigrants.

The plan is based on the principles that Portugal needs immigrants for demographic, social and economic reasons, but this immigration must be regulated and monitored, accompanied by humanist integration and a proactive approach to attracting foreign talent. The action plan, has four axes of action (I) regulated immigration, (II) attraction of foreign talent, (III) human integration that works and (IV) institutional reorganization.

The decree-law that changes the legal regime for the entry, stay, exit and repatriation of foreigners from national territory, revokes the residence permit instruments based on the mere expression of interest, safeguarding, however, the situation of foreign citizens who have already initiated procedures residence permit under the present law.

This is a far reaching piece of legislation which came into mediate effect on midnight Monday/Tuesday 3^rd/4^th June. There are 41 measures listed within these four axes. What is important however is the fact that it safeguards, the situation of foreign citizens who have already initiated procedures residence permit under the present law. It is important to resolve the serious back lock of 400 thousand outstanding issues. Action plan in English here:

action-plan-for-migration-learn-about-the-main-measures

Turning to the weather. A cold air drop will move in the coming days, approaching the Mainland. This situation is forecast to cause changes in the weather on the Mainland. At an early stage (Thursday and Friday), this system will be responsible for sending the Sahara dust. In a second phase, its approach will cause instability, with possible heavy showers and thunderstorms. If the phases overlap we can expect mud rain. We are monitoring closely.

We have published several times in the past “fake accident scams” where the victim is approached by someone in a car park claiming that the person had had damaged his car by reversing into it from a parking bay. The person demands money for repairs and the demand can be quite threatening if not handed over in cash at the time. These people move between different car parks in the Algarve and we are aware of at least one occasion that the culprit had young children in his car!

We posted on Tuesday an example where the victim was an elderly lady and the culprit used a white powder on the bumper of his car and on hers, to try and simulate that an accident had taken place, whereas in fact it had not. The culprit eventually left not however before frightening the lady concerned. If this happens to you do not pay, and say you are calling the police whereupon the person concerned will normally leave quickly!

Lastly a reminder that the government has made it clear that when the fire risk is high do not burn cut and piled waste. This and extensive burns are responsible for over 50% of fires, resulting from becoming out of control. From 1^st June regardless of the fire risk you need to obtain Authorisation from your city council and this will not be approved when the risk is high. In fact many municipalities have introduced blanked bans over the coming months. Remember a small spark can cause a very large fire!

Our team at Safe Communities wishes you a safe and happy week ahead

News

INEM admits delays in service, 50 calls were (simultaneously) on hold

Calls to Urgent Patient Guidance Centers have increased in recent days, overloading a service that operates with a shortage of professionals. This situation resulted in a delay of between 10 and 15 minutes in service.

In recent days, there have been serious delays in answering calls to 112. The situation was reported by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. There were periods with around 50 calls on hold, which could compromise timely assistance to the population.

INEM has already acknowledged the delays in responding to aid. Calls to Urgent Patient Guidance Centers have increased in recent days, overloading a service that operates with a ‘deficit’ of professionals. This situation resulted in a delay of between 10 and 15 minutes in service.

“We were aware that yesterday there were 50 calls on hold for long periods of the day (…)”, denounces Paulo Paço, from the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.

In addition to the shortage of professionals, INEM officials link this increase in the number of calls to high temperatures, but the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians points out other problems: obsolete screening and failures in the communications chain.

Queues and pending processes remain at AIMA, a scenario repeated in Lisbon and Porto

The long queue at AIMA in Porto leaves no room for doubt as to the immigrants’ anxiety about having the processes completed.

Márcia Nunes arrived at 22:00, stayed the night by the door, and even got first place but it didn’t do her much good. “I left without a response. They are only regularizing those who demonstrated until April 30th”, explains Márcia.

And the problems continue. Those waiting despair due to the long delays and lack of information. “I’m here today because of my nationality situation. I asked for documents, two years and seven months have passed and I still haven’t received them”, says a Russian immigrant.

“That’s what you see out there. People without assistance, god damn it, without documents, without the slightest purpose”, adds a Brazilian immigrant.

To try to resolve these situations, the Government presented a new plan for migration that highlights the end of expressions of interest, a rule that some are welcome.

“So that people don’t come to Portugal illegally. There are many situations throughout the country where many immigrants do not have a work contract and this also causes a lot of tension and social problems”, comments a Portuguese man.

Along with AIMA in Lisbon, the same measure is criticized. “First he has to draw up a work contract for which he doesn’t even know if he is qualified for that activity”, says Ricardo Amaral, president of the Association of Brazilians in Portugal.

Concerns that extend to family reunification processes.

“I went to an immigrant support institution and they were the ones who made the appointment. We didn’t have any response from AIMA”, says an Angolan immigrant.

There are almost half a million cases pending and despite the current lack of human resources, the government guarantees that they will all be regularized.

19.9 tons of waste collected in the Queima das Fitas procession in Coimbra

Coimbra, 03 June 2024 (Lusa) – Coimbra City Council collected 19.9 tonnes of waste in the Queima das Fitas procession, an amount that was entirely sent for recycling, the municipality reported today.

This year, “it was possible to send all (100%) of the waste for recovery, increasing recycling by 12.9 tons, compared to 2023 (at the time, seven tons of the 10.4 tons of waste were recycled)”, stated the Chamber in a note sent to the Lusa agency.

According to the municipality, of the 19.9 tons of waste collected during the procession, which took place on May 26th, packaging (19.56 tons), especially canned beverage packaging, which was the majority, to which are added 340 kilos of glass.

The garbage collection and street cleaning operation was carried out immediately after the passage of the student floats, between the upper and lower parts of the city, and involved 70 workers, nine vehicles, with different functionalities, and more than a dozen of complementary technical means.

“In addition, a waste collection system was set up at the end of the procession, before the cars were dismantled, within the cars themselves, provided by the City Council”, he added.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 29^th May 2024

Good morning. I hope everyone living in rural areas who need to clean their land has done so, as the fire danger in coming days is the by far the highest so far this year.

In areas where fuel is available, weather plays a pivotal role in determining the risk of fires. Fire danger indices are used to understand how the flammability of a specific region changes in response to weather conditions, and to evaluate the potential spread and intensity of a fire. These indices are calculated from parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, precipitation, the moisture content of potential fuels, and the prevailing weather conditions over the preceding days to months.

In some areas, such as Castelo Branco on 31^st we may see “extreme levels” in indicators which determine the intensity of potential fires by combining the rate of fire spread with the amount of fuel being consumed. This is very important to be aware of as when levels reach 50 or more this means that any fires that get hold will be difficult to supress by traditional means of firefighting, and typically are only done so with the change of weather, such as reduced winds or precipitation.

Turning to water shortages, it was revealed earlier this week, that in the last ten years, around 840 million euros of already treated and unbilled water were wasted by the distribution network, according to June edition of the magazine Deco Proteste, based on data from the regulator ERSAR. In 2022, 162 million cubic meters of water were wasted, warns Deco Proteste, adding up to 88 million euros of unbilled water in one year and around 840 million euros in ten years, according to data from the Water and Water Services Regulatory Authority. Waste (ERSAR).

Alerting to the urgent need to rehabilitate the water supply infrastructure at national level, which is aging and subject to increasing water losses and supply failures, it was found that 87 municipalities, of the 278 municipalities on the continent, with increases in real losses of water, and 161 with reduction. So when the government and municipalities consider longer term solution such as desalination for instance, this will be of limited use, should the water subsequently we wasted en-route to users through leaking pipes!

Lastly a thank you for all those who visited us at the São Brás Museu do Traje, Spring Fair 2024 held last Sunday. Great weather and company.

Plenty of visitors and many enquiries covering land cleaning, wells, crime prevention, work of Safe Communities, emergency medical card, contact information for emergencies and sharing of experiences. We thank our team, Jane, Antonia, Mike and Karen and David for their help and support. We also thank the organisers for such a well-attended and enjoyable community event.

Turning to crime prevention. PSP has announced an increase in burglaries inside residences through deception. Preferred targets are elderly, or especially vulnerable, people who live alone or in isolated homes. Suspects try to trick victims through a cover story to gain access.  Don’t open the door to strangers, don’t be misled by the presence of children and have emergency contacts in easy-accessible places. If you notice anything unusual contact PSP immediately! For those in rural areas call the GNR or in an emergency 112

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

News

Russian hackers attack in Spain during Zelensky’s visit. Portugal could be the next target

Pro-Putin ‘hacktivists’ illegally accessed the websites of the regional Parliament and the Madrid Metro, as well as video surveillance camera systems, during the Ukrainian president’s visit to that country. Portugal may suffer similar attacks

At least three groups of ‘hacktivists’ defending Vladimir Putin’s government claimed computer attacks in Spain during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit last Monday.

On Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin considered that the only legitimate power in Ukraine now belongs to the Ukrainian parliament and not the President, claiming that Volodymyr Zelensky’s term ended on May 20.

“The Ukrainian Constitution provides for the extension of powers, but only for the Rada [Parliament], and does not say anything about the extension of the President’s powers,” Putin said at the end of a visit to Uzbekistan.

Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian law prohibits holding presidential elections while martial law is in force, but said this does not mean that the functions of the current head of state are automatically expanded.

“The Constitution [of Ukraine] says nothing about this,” he said, insisting that “in fact, presidential functions have passed to the head of the Ukrainian Parliament.”

GNR inspected around 1.9 million people at maritime borders in six months

Lisbon, May 27 (Lusa) – The GNR inspected around 1.9 million people at maritime borders between October 29 and the end of April, mainly for tourist visits, the corporation announced today.

The Republican National Guard today took stock of the six months in which it assumed responsibility for controlling maritime and land borders with the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) on October 29, 2023.

In a statement, the GNR states that, in six months, around 1.9 million people who entered and left the country on 8,100 vessels were controlled, with special emphasis on cruise ships, with the ports of Lisbon and Funchal recording the largest number of entries.

The GNR also reports that, between October 29, 2023 and the end of April this year, it carried out more than 1.1 million administrative procedures at border posts related to the issuance of visas, licenses to come ashore and licenses to access to the international zone.

In the same period, the GNR’s territorial immigration inspection centers carried out more than 300 operations throughout the country, aimed especially at the agriculture, industry and services sectors, during which they inspected the status of around 9,500 foreigners.

According to the GNR, the districts where the most operations were carried out were Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Santarém, with “special priority” being given to entries at the Vila Formoso and Caia borders, where several violations of the foreigner’s law were recorded.

The main administrative offenses detected by the Guard soldiers were related to the lack of declaration of entry into national territory (324).

The GNR also detained six people for illegally staying in Portugal.