Open letter cites lack of investment and lack of agents
In an open letter, PSP officials warn of the “collapse” of the country’s public security police force due to a lack of investment and officers, the unattractiveness of the profession and the “deplorable state” of vehicles, facilities and equipment.
“The collapse is right in front of our eyes,” writes the National Union of Police Officers (SNOP) in a letter to which Lusa had access.
The missive was approved for publication yesterday evening at a dinner that brought together PSP officials to discuss internal security and the future of the PSP Public Security Police generally.
Entitled “Security is Portugal’s ‘oil’“, SNOP denounces the lack of attractiveness of careers in the force, the lack of staff and an ageing workforce, as well as a PSP “depleted by government imperatives and lack of investment”.
Police “won’t stop” in their demands
The union that represents the majority of PSP commanders and directors warns that police demands (for that read ‘protests’) “will not stop at pay issues”: there needs to be “an in-depth discussion about the level of investment and funding to keep the country’s security forces working properly”.
SNOP emphasises that “the miserly management of security forces goes back a long way” and that more than 90% of their budget is absorbed by personnel costs, an “unprecedented figure in Europe”.
“Investment in a security force like the PSP, with almost 5,000 vehicles, 400 facilities and an innumerable ‘stock’ of technical and operational equipment, amounts to no more than 13 million euros a year, or less than 2% of the (State) budget,” writes the union, arguing that the programming law “only manages to implement two thirds of the amounts approved” and, of these, “only one third goes to police equipment or facilities”.
“Little more than a fifth of the amount approved by the Council of Ministers is actually dedicated to facilities, vehicles and equipment of the security forces, and this is where the truth lies. That’s why you can see the deplorable state everything is in. No institution can function with this financial structure,” say the officers.
Suicide rate among police almost double that of general population
With regard to human resources, SNOP points out that although the average age of police officers is 11 years younger than that of the general population, the suicide rate is almost double; the number of police officers killed on duty is 1.4% (32 total cases) and the number of police officers assaulted is 901 per year (this is an average figure taken from statistics from 2000 to 2022).
According to SNOP, last year 18% of PSP police officers (3,719) met the requirements for pre-retirement and 53 % (11,060) were over 45 years old, out of a total of 20,870 PSP agents.
“In five years’ time, 34% of police officers will meet the requirements for pre-retirement. The scenario is all the more worrying when the results of the last four recruitment drives for entry into the career show that the Portuguese police will face a serious threat to its readiness and operational effectiveness by failing to replace, complete and rejuvenate police numbers, as had been planned,” they emphasise.
The officials maintain that the number of successful candidates in the last four recruitment drives has been “far below expectations” and this has meant that it has “not been possible to fill all of the vacancies announced politically, and included in the Multiannual Admissions Plan”.
According to SNOP, 4,200 new police were expected to join the force between 2019 and 2023, but only 2,849 were admitted.
“This is the result of the vile attack on the dignity of police careers and the essential role of the security forces,” says the union, adding that around 20% of the police with higher education who joined the PSP between 2008 and 2014 have already left, with the majority going to the PJ, SEF and other senior careers within Public Administration.
Source: SIC Notícias/ Lusa
