The preliminary data from the Safe School Program (PES), provided to Lusa, is released today as the Public Security Police (PSP) launches an operation to mark the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year in urban centers throughout the country under its jurisdiction.
During the 2024/2025 school year, the PSP recorded 3,887 incidents (-3.9% compared to the previous year), of which 2,786 were criminal and 1,101 were non-criminal, according to provisional data registered between September 1, 2024, and July 31, 2025, within the Information and Monitoring System of Special Policing Programs, which includes the PES.
Most incidents reported to the police took place within school grounds (2,719), primarily occurring outside of classrooms.
As in previous years, the majority of criminal incidents recorded by the PSP last school year were physical assaults (1,290), followed by insults and threats (892) and thefts (371).
The PSP also highlights that 52 cases involved the possession or use of weapons, with 43 knives and two firearms detected and seized in schools.
Among non-criminal incidents, the most frequent were disturbances of school activities (431), remaining the most reported cases.
A statement from the PSP today indicates that the operation marking the start of the 2025/2026 school year will run from today until September 19 to ensure the school year begins “with the utmost tranquility” and “safety for all students, teachers, staff, and parents.”
This security operation aims to “enhance the PSP’s presence around educational institutions and the routes students, teachers, parents/guardians, and operational assistants take to and from school.”
In addition to the Safe School Program teams (EPES), composed of officers specially trained for proximity policing in a school environment, the PSP will mobilize police from other operational units such as Auto Policing Teams, Traffic Enforcement and Road Safety, and Criminal Investigation Brigades.
The PSP is responsible for the security of 3,243 public and private schools, 966,987 enrolled students, and 148,481 teachers and operational staff.
As students return to school, the PSP advises parents to be aware of their children’s school schedules, routes to and from school, names and contacts of close friends, and the places they frequent.
The police also urge parents to caution their children against accepting rides from strangers, displaying money or valuables, accepting sweets, money, or other offers from strangers, altering their routes to and from home without parental notification, and playing in deserted or low-traffic areas.
The PSP provides the email es**********@*sp.pt for crime reporting, addressing questions related to public school safety, or scheduling awareness activities.
