“Police always present – Operation safe summer” runs for three months
Portugal’s PSP police force begins its Operation Safe Summer campaign today, lasting until September 15 (ie taking in the summer to the end of the school holidays).
In a statement, the force concedes that this period “is traditionally marked by significant demographic changes”, namely with the arrival of millions of tourists.
There are also family trips to summer destinations, the return of popular festivals and events, and the official ‘bathing season’.
The plan this year is to concentrate operational capacity to “increase the feeling of security in beach, tourist and commercial areas, nightlife areas, residential areas and main road arteries”.
Special attention will be paid to roads that serve beaches and where there is a greater influx of people and vehicles, as well as a greater number of public transport users.
PSP police will also maintain “strong police visibility at access points to main intercity roads”, monitoring traditional trips to holiday destinations, especially to the south of the country.
Police presence will also be increased on beaches/ bathing areas, nightlife spots and other places with a high influx of people motivated by seasonality (tourist areas, summer festivals, country fairs), as well as at national airports and air border controls.
“PSP Operation – Portugal Safer Place” is also being run with the aim of raising awareness among tourists about the adoption of self-protection measures – not only for their own safety, but for the safety of their property in various contexts (in order to reduce the opportunity for criminal offences).
During the next three months, the PSP will make available, on its website and over social media, various safety tips about road safety, theft prevention and home protection, self-protection measures and child safety.
These ambitions come at a time when ‘the perception of safety’ in Portugal has been taking a battering, with this weekend seeing various ‘demonstrations’ in Lisbon against violence/ racism – particularly in the context of opposition to the ‘extreme right’.
Source: LUSA
