The National Union of Police Officers (SNOP) has released a “new open letter to all Portuguese citizens,” unveiled approximately 20 months after its initial public alert during a period of significant unrest.
The union, representing the majority of police commanders and directors of the PSP, initially penned an “open letter to all Portuguese citizens,” highlighting the “endemic and structural issues” affecting the ability of security forces, particularly the PSP, to continue meeting “Portugal’s security demands.”
“Police forces are and will always be major social regulators, acting as a kind of well-being thermometer,” states the SNOP, cautioning that if these forces are not in optimal condition, “they will not comfort those who are here, much less attract those who wish to come here from abroad.”
Over the past decade, the PSP’s operations have been hindered by challenges such as “the substantial increase in urban populations,” the growth and settlement of large migrant communities, rising protests and major events, concentrated violent crime, and new responsibilities like border control following SEF’s dissolution.
These issues are compounded by hundreds of daily requests from courts, municipalities, hospitals, and other entities that divert resources from essential security functions.
Despite the first letter’s call for “serious investment” to attract new officers and retain existing ones, rather than just “better remuneration,” SNOP continues to highlight the recruitment crisis.
“It is estimated that almost 100 officers annually request termination or suspension from PSP, seeking new pastures,” with vacant positions in new agent courses remaining unfilled year after year.
The union notes that “the catastrophe is mitigated only because successive governments have prevented” nearly 5,000 officers eligible for early retirement from leaving, constituting almost 25% of all agents.
The letter criticizes the government’s inaction in recruitment, station restructuring, resource optimization, hiring civilian staff, technological modernization, and renewing internal management processes, mobility, and competitions.
Enhancements to police training, including the establishment of a police university, psychological support, and trauma prevention services, along with a health fast-track dependent on “an alleged inter-ministerial protocol,” are also among the union’s grievances.
“We talk about the need to invest in dematerialization, to invest for savings, to invest for dignity, and what does the government do? Nothing, maintaining investment levels at just over 2% of the budget compared to personnel expenses, waiting silently for a long-overdue modernization,” they lament.
While acknowledging the government’s limited resources, SNOP argues it is crucial to pair any expenses with measures to rationalize costs and enable investment in equipment, technology, infrastructure, and notably in professional health.
“Enough with gestures and speeches beautifying rhetoric. We demand actions, respect, and above all the courage to change and not prolong,” they emphasize.
The letter, titled “Security [remains] Portugal’s ‘oil’,” is being released as PSP officers reconvene to discuss “the best measures and solutions for internal security and the best paths to pursue them.”
The date selection coincides with the anniversary of the Lisbon Metropolitan Command.
