Portuguese interior minister Maria Lúcia Amaral has warned today that the recent wave of violent crime in the Lisbon region is ‘generating an exaggerated sense of insecurity in relation to reality’.
“There has indeed been an increase in violent crime, but not as much as the media is reporting, which is creating a feeling of insecurity among people that does not always coincide with what is actually happening,” said the interior minister, Maria Lúcia Amaral, when questioned today about the five cases that occurred in the Lisbon region.
Police have recorded five cases of young men being shot in Amadora, which the Resident has already highlighted.
These incidents most definitely happened – but reporting them perhaps should not have, in the opinion of the minister, who explained in a sentence that needs careful unpacking: “The wave of violent crimes that marked last week must be understood in our context, which is one of rigorous reporting on the actual increase in crime and violence.”
In other words, the crimes happened, but minister Amaral would really rather that everyone played them down.
The minister’s comments came at the ceremony inaugurating a new police station in Odivelas, where National PSP Director Luis Carrilho applauded the investment of almost €600,000 in the renovation of the Pontinha police station, saying that the work of Pontinha police has led to a decrease in general, violent and serious crime this year and an increase in arrests this year compared to last year.
As for the news in the Público newspaper today revealing that the PSP has made “one of the largest drug seizures ever without the knowledge of the Judicial Police” (PJ, the country’s main criminal investigation agency), director Carrilho referred explanations to a press conference that will be held tomorrow – praising the work of the officers who seized a considerable amount of hashish and related paraphernalia.
Público reports that the operation “was carried out without the knowledge of the Judicial Police (PJ), which, by law, must be notified of any action taken by one of the other criminal police agencies”.
Questioned on the subject, minister Amaral said: “I haven’t read the Público newspaper report yet. I don’t know what happened, so I can’t comment.”
As for criticism from PSP unions, which have been demanding pay rises and criticising the government for not including a rise in the 2026 draft state budget to make the profession more attractive, the minister assured that she “is working on this”.
“As in many other institutions and areas of the State, there has been some difficulty in attracting new generations to join these institutions, which involve lifelong commitments,” said Maria Lúcia Amaral, considering this difficulty “very natural”.
“Today, youth culture is different because the world is also different and young people have many more alternatives and choices. What we are doing at the PSP is figuring out how to dignify the role and status of police officers so that it can also be attractive to new generations,” she added.
Source: LUSA
