Observatory considers police operation “followed good practices”
With IGAI, the general inspectorate of internal administration, opening an inquiry into the police operation in Martim Moniz last week that caused such an outcry via the media, the country’s Internal Security Observatory has said that it cannot see what all the fuss is about.
According to a statement, the Observatory considers that the operation followed “good practices for actions of this type”. Indeed, it can see “no evidence of any illegality”, in spite of all the howls from left-wing quarters to the contrary.
The strategy of “closing the street and searching people” constitutes a “common action in various parts of the country, including Martim Moniz”, the statement continued.
“The common citizen does not have the obligation to know or understand the operational procedures of the security forces”, it added, but “this lack of knowledge sometimes generates criticism based on subjective interpretations of the facts or, in some cases, influenced by political or ideological motivations” (which has definitely been the case in this instance).
“The area has been the scene of a high number of reports of incidents, from thefts and robberies using bladed weapons to episodes of violence, such as stoning of police vehicles and a homicide”, the OSI recalls, suggesting these justify the “more forceful intervention of the authorities”.
The objective was not to “carry out mass arrests”, but rather to “demonstrate a firm, attentive and determined police presence, conveying to the community the message that the authorities are vigilant and committed to local security”, says the Observatory, highlighting that this “preventive approach”, although more visible, is one of the strategies of the “most intense and most impactful operations”, within the scope of “community policing”.
In short, “the stance adopted by the security forces was guided by current operational procedures, as well as by international guidelines for best practices in police intervention, following the procedures adopted by institutions such as Interpol, Europol and the FBI”.
The PSP’s actions have nonetheless been criticized by immigrant associations, anti-racist groups and various political forces, many of which accuse the police force of serving government propaganda against irregular foreign citizens.
With these criticisms in mind perhaps, IGAI’s decision to open an inquiry was announced today.
Speaking to Expresso, the Inspector General of Internal Administration, Judge Pedro Figueiredo, revealed that, certainly up until now, IGAI “has not received any complaints about police abuse or anything similar regarding the special operation carried out on Rua do Benformoso, in Lisbon, last Thursday”.
Aside from the two Portuguese citizens arrested, Lisbon’s Metropolitan Command (COMETLIS) of the PSP clarified that it seized €435 in cash, suspected of coming from illicit activities, seven batons (wood and iron), 17 envelopes with passport-size photos suspected of being for use in illicit activities, €3,435 in cash, a passport and several documents suspected of aiding illegal immigration, 581.37 grams of a drug suspected to be hashish, a bladed weapon and a mobile phone that was listed as stolen.
Regarding procedures, COMETLIS spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Ana Raquel Ricardo, explained that a “special crime prevention operation gives legitimacy to carry out other types of investigations, namely the search of citizens who are at the location and the search of vehicles” that circulate there.
She also stated that the number of professionals employed “was what was necessary” for an operation of this type, without, however, revealing the number of professionals that had been involved.
Source material: LUSA
