More than one-third of GNR officers work in administrative roles in the Albufeira council, says the mayor.
Albufeira Mayor Desidério Silva has now urged the Government to strengthen police forces in the council, as he says, it makes no sense to train men and women for the prevention of crime and then have most of them taking notes and writing reports at police headquarters.
Two of the five parishes of the county, Ferreiras and Paderne, are covered by a police force of only 22 officers. Desidério Silva considers this to be insufficient and would like to see more GNR officers patrolling the streets.
“Those parishes have been targeted by several burglaries in recent months,” said the Mayor.
“The government knows, and I know, that 22 officers are not enough. Of the 180 GNR in the municipality, about 60 are working in administration.”
“In times of crisis, there is a tendency for an increase in criminal activity and we have to have a more effective police force to fight and patrol the council.”
The municipality of Albufeira has almost half of all hotels in the Algarve and is one of the areas with higher unemployment rates, especially during the low tourist season.
