According to the data provided by the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP), 105 individuals have suspended prison sentences for the crime of forest fire, and out of this total, “22 are required to remain at home with electronic surveillance during the period of highest fire risk incidence, as decreed by civil protection.”
The civil protection authority has defined the months of July, August, and September as the most critical for fire risks.
The law has allowed for the possibility of imposing electronic monitoring on individuals convicted of forest fire crimes with suspended sentences during the hottest months for the past eight years.
Since 2017, the year marked by the Pedrógão and October fires, the court can mandate home confinement with electronic surveillance “for the period coinciding with the months of highest fire risk,” as stated in the respective law.
On Monday, PAN submitted a bill to the Assembly of the Republic to modify the Penal Code, requiring all individuals convicted of forest fire crimes who are at liberty to wear electronic bracelets from May to October.
Mainland Portugal has been afflicted by multiple rural fires since July, particularly in the North and Center regions.
The fires have resulted in three deaths, including a firefighter, and numerous injuries, some severe, and have destroyed homes, both primary and secondary, as well as agricultural, livestock areas, and forest lands.
According to provisional data, by August 20, over 222,000 hectares had burned in the country, surpassing the total burned area for the entire year of 2024.
