‘State of Alert’ recognised in parish of Santa Maria Maior
Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Moedas (PSD) has reacted to complaints at Thursday’s meeting on the insecurity being felt in the capital’s downtown district, calling for a reinforcement of police.
In interview with Rádio Renascença, Moedas reinforced concerns aired (and frequently reported to authorities) by dozens of residents in the parish of Santa Maria Maior.
Situations described involve burglaries, muggings, car thefts, drug use and trafficking in broad daylight and physical aggressions.
The flyer for the meeting even described a rising number of murders in the area.
“Carlos Moedas admitted that crime has been on the increase”, writes Lusa, “and expressed his willingness to find solutions to help mitigate the problem” – while also urging the government to play its part in helping to make the area feel more secure.
He stressed that he had previously made such a request to the PS Socialist government (which lost power in the March 10 elections).
“I am still asking today for 200 municipal police officers, but I only got 25.
“We also need more PSP agents on the streets and that’s the government’s responsibility…”
The mayor has offered to make a building available to house a new PSP police station in Praça da Alegria, stressing that “Lisbon is a secure city, but we have seen by numbers, not just an increase in crime, but in violent crime, and crime committed with greater violence. This cannot be. We have to stop this increase immediately. We have to have more police on the streets and (more) visibility”.
Santa Maria Maior’s Socialist president Miguel Coelho is also calling for the installation of a video surveillance network, an end to zero licensing, changes to the opening hours of commercial establishments, a ban on the sale of alcohol on the street after 9pm and for the categorisation of Santa Maria Maior as ‘a critical area’.
Source material: LUSA
