PSP officers warned today that the annual loss of almost 100 police officers, unfilled vacancies in police training courses and the retention of pre-retirement staff threaten security, and demanded measures and solutions from the government.
The latest “open letter to all Portuguese people” from the National Union of Police Officers (SNOP), to which Lusa had access, comes about 20 months after its first public warning.
At the time, the union, which represents the majority of PSP commanders and directors, wrote an ‘open letter to all Portuguese people’ warning of ‘endemic and structural problems’ affecting the ability of the security forces, especially the PSP, to continue to respond to Portugal’s security requirements.
“The police are, and will always be, one of the main social regulators, operating as a welfare thermometer,” says SNOP, warning that if those within the police force ‘are not well, how will it attract new recruits?’
It points out that, in 10 years, the PSP has seen its work hampered by various challenges, such as “the substantial increase of population in urban areas”, the growth of immigrant communities in these areas, the increase in protests and large events, the incidence of violent crime and new responsibilities such as border control, following the abolition of the SEF authority (immigration and border control).
Added to this are hundreds of daily requests from courts, local authorities, hospitals and other entities that divert resources from essential security functions.
After the first letter, in which the union called not only for ‘better pay’ but, above all, for ‘serious investment’ to attract new police officers and retain those already in service, SNOP is once again warning of a recruitment crisis.
“To date, it is estimated that almost 100 police officers per year request dismissal or suspension from the PSP, seeking new opportunities,” in addition to the hundreds of vacancies that remain unfilled year after year in new police officer training courses.
Officials warn that “the catastrophe is only not worse because successive governments have prevented” the departure of almost 5,000 police officers of pre-retirement age, who represent almost 25% of all officers.
They also point to the government’s inaction in several areas, namely in recruitment, the restructuring of police stations and the merging of services to optimise resources, the hiring of civilian staff (to carry out administrative work currently performed by officers), technological modernisation, and mobility.
While recognising that the government does not have unlimited resources, SNOP argues that it is essential that any expenditure be accompanied by measures that rationalise spending and allow investment in equipment, technology, infrastructure and, above all, in healthcare for the PSP officers.
