Portugal’s prime minister Luís Montenegro attended the meeting today of the Superior Council for Internal Security, which approved the RASI report for 2025, showing that crime in Portugal is ‘stabilising’.
The year may have seen an “increase in reported general crime” but it saw a decrease in serious and violent crime. The PM “noted that small fluctuations show figures in Portugal are stabilising”, writes Lusa this afternoon.
RASI, the Annual Internal Security Report, will now be sent to parliament.
Speaking with the ministers of interior administration and justice beside him, the PM said: “We have reasons to see a controlled situation in Portugal, to present Portugal as a safe country, but also reasons for concern about some trends and to continue to improve the articulation and coordination work.”
The PM declined to answer questions, noting that the document would be public later today.
He highlighted four main concerns: drug trafficking, domestic violence, road accidents and illegal immigration assistance -particularly stressing “the increase in drug trafficking seizures and arrests” last year, for which PJ police has to take significant credit.
In the perspective of Luís Montenegro, 2025 reflected a government strategy that was proving effective through more seizures and higher arrest numbers, says Lusa.
The PM noted however that domestic violence remains a crime with “many reports,” even though it decreased in 2025.
“Twenty-seven people lost their lives, 21 women, four men and two children, but we had many thousands of reports of a crime of terror, against which we want to continue an incessant fight and offer more support to victims,” he adding, saying that today’s meeting allowed state forces to coordinate strategies in this regard.
Calling road accidents “a social plague in Portugal”, the PM said that while there were fewer deaths in 2025, accidents increased. He said the government would increase inspections and awareness in this area.
Additionally, excessively risky behaviour in Portugal resulted in many deaths on the road and many serious injuries.
“It is time to significantly reverse this trend,” he said.
Finally, the prime minister said that illegal immigration assistance saw more arrests in 2025. He said the government’s strategy favours regulated and humanist immigration.
“It is worth coming to Portugal via legal routes; it is not worth coming through illegal ones,” he said, adding that efforts to dismantle human trafficking networks will continue.
Source material: LUSA
