“We have to manage perceptions—Lisbon’s crime rate has not increased,” stated Luís Neves during a meeting organised by the capital’s Municipal Police, referencing the city’s crime rates in the 1980s, 1990s, and late 2000s.
In 2008 and 2009, there were about 900 attacks per year involving bank, gas station, and post office robberies with fatalities, mostly in Lisbon, Setúbal, and Porto.
“Today, perhaps, we don’t have 10% of the crimes that occurred during those ‘dark years of crime,’ when gas station attendants were killed in armed robberies,” said the Minister at the colloquium on social cohesion and the challenges of urban polarisation: a local security strategy.
No artificial chaos
Luís Neves urged that crime statistics not be misused to create artificial chaos, warning that manipulation undermines respect for human diversity.
He explained that his motivation as minister is to ensure respect for human diversity becomes a reality, reinforcing that combating distorted perceptions supports this goal.
“Our culture is rooted in respect for diversity of race, origin, political orientation, religious orientation, sexual orientation, and gender,” stated Luís Neves.
In building this security policy, the “Municipal Police plays a very relevant and decisive role” because it understands “the local dynamics of the community.”
The official praised the career advancement of municipal police officers and the “possibility of directly recruiting citizens with knowledge of the territory.”
Because “we want professionals who know the faces of each neighbourhood,” since each municipal police officer is a “specialist in urban coexistence and moderation.”
The official also wanted to clarify the functions of all forces: “The Municipal Police focuses on monitoring daily urban life” and allows the PSP and GNR to “focus on their specific functions.”
In the future, the “objective is to guarantee more suitable models” and “a closer presence to the population.”
Attention on the roads
Recently, Luís Neves announced increased attention to road accidents and safety, advocating for a “policy that focuses on urban areas,” where “accidents with serious injuries” occur, “well above the European average.”
“Urban safety is not limited to crime prevention,” and “it is important to pay attention to accidents in urban areas,” he stated.
In this area, “Lisbon has the conditions to assume this ambition” of establishing itself “as a benchmark city in road safety.”
The Minister mentioned the return of the Traffic Brigade, stressing that the creation of this unit “will not undermine any competence that the PSP has in this area.”
“Reducing accidents is a collective responsibility,” he added.