Clarifying that the Government only has “very embryonic” and “fragmentary” data from both the GNR and the PSP, the official stated that there is no “exponential increase, far from it, in crime.”
“In fact, serious and violent crime has been decreasing,” although there has “been some growth” in general crime, specified the Secretary of State to journalists in Viana do Alentejo, at the end of the ceremony celebrating the 17th anniversary of the GNR’s Territorial Command of Évora.
Paulo Simões Ribeiro noted that regarding this phenomenon, “even one [crime] creates some alarm among people, and therefore, it is natural for people to express concern.”
He continued, “Much of this increased general crime is very much related to the increased proactivity of the security forces.”
“Both the PSP and the GNR have been increasingly proactive,” making it “easier to perceive that more crimes, more general crime situations, are identified,” and “at the same time, there has been greater proactivity, greater proximity, which also increases the prevention of these crimes.”
In his speech during the ceremony, the Deputy Secretary of State and the Internal Administration had referred to specific GNR action programs in territories like Alentejo, notably Campo Seguro, which addresses crime prevention and combat during various agricultural campaigns.
“The theft [of cork] and the distribution of the montado nationally, but with special emphasis in these territories, every year feed a parallel economy that generates millions and which we are combating firmly,” he assured.
According to the official, under Campo Seguro, “just up to September this year, the GNR has already carried out almost 1,000 inspections and 2,269 patrols, much more than in previous years.”
The 17th-anniversary celebrations of the GNR’s Territorial Command of Évora, led by Colonel Paulo Miguel Lopes de Barros Poiares, were held near the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora d’Aires, on the outskirts of Viana do Alentejo.
At the ceremony, among other civil, military, and religious entities, the General Commander of the GNR, Lieutenant-General Rui Alberto Ribeiro Veloso, was also present but declined to speak to journalists.
