The Lisbon Municipal Police cannot arrest crime suspects in the city, contrary to the request made by the mayor approximately a year ago. Carlos Moedas has responded, expressing “incredulity” and renewing his appeal to the Ministry of Internal Administration to “change the law”.
An opinion from the Advisory Council of the Attorney General’s Office, endorsed by the government, concludes that municipal police officers are not security forces nor criminal police bodies and, therefore, are administrative police, operating under the strict dependency of municipal mayors.
They are prohibited from conducting criminal investigations or making arrests (except in cases of in flagrante delicto of a crime punishable by imprisonment, where they must immediately hand over the detained person to a judicial authority or a criminal police body), as reported on Tuesday by Diário de Notícias.
In light of this, it is clear that the order given by the mayor of Lisbon in September 2024 was illegal, when he instructed the commander of the respective Municipal Police that its officers should “make arrests for crimes.”
The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, ordered the Municipal Police to start arresting crime suspects in the city, a decision that the Ministry of Internal Administration stated today is under technical-legal review.
Lusa | 16:49 – 24/09/2024
Additionally, according to Diário de Notícias, the Inspectorate-General of Internal Administration (IGAI) has “initiated an administrative process for investigation” into recent actions taken by the municipal police that resulted in the detention of street vendors.
In a statement to TSF, Carlos Moedas says he is unaware of both the PGR opinion and the government’s decision to approve it, expressing “incredulity” and again appealing for the Ministry of Internal Administration to “change the law”.
I was not officially informed of the opinion, I want to make that clear. I learned through the news.”
Nevertheless, he claims to receive the information “with some perplexity and incredulity”, insisting that Lisbon is experiencing a “serious situation” due to a lack of resources.
The mayor also insists that the municipal police officers in Porto and Lisbon belong to the PSP and should be able to act as such: “Do you find it normal that someone who is a PSP, but is in the Municipal Police, catches a criminal in flagrante delicto and has to stand by with the criminal on the street waiting for the PSP? […] This cannot happen. This is so ridiculous.”
Regarding the inquiry opened by the Inspectorate General of Internal Administration, Moedas expressed confidence, assuring that the Lisbon Municipal Police “did everything within the law and regulations”.
“These inquiries are normal. I would like to continue motivating the Municipal Police in its role, not only administrative and supervisory but also a role that should support PSP colleagues,” he concludes.
