Portugal’s Crime Wave

Our Portuguese correspondent Afonso Henriques has translated a batch of material about crime in his country. As he acknowledges, not all of the criminal activity mentioned is due to “cultural enrichment” issues. However, a large portion of it is probably immigrant-related, and in any case the material points out the worsening law-and-order situation in Portugal.

Here’s what Afonso says by way of introduction:

Baron, I don’t want to harm tourism in Portugal, but I think you may like this news about the preparations for the summertime.

Note that although some of this criminality is committed by ethnic minorities, maybe even the majority of it, it’s not exclusively due to diversity. This is more about the preparations for summertime. I’ve been collecting some stories that happened this week and will send them to you in the following days. I also found a very good history of anti-diverse-people-power that took place recently, and I’ll then send it to you.

And this is his translation of the July 4th article in Correio da Manhã:

Security: 140 arrested by Lisbon’s Judiciary Police (PJ) since the beginning of the year due to violent crimes

Since the beginning of the year, the Judiciary Police (PJ), in Lisbon only, have arrested at least 140 criminals who committed violent crimes. According to what CM (the newspaper Correio da Manhã) has gathered from police sources, only half of the suspects remained in preventive arrest, and some 20% (close to 30 detainees) are waiting for a judgment in domiciliary arrest.

The data show a stabilization of the number of arrests due to violent crimes, but the authorities are very worried about the number of weapons that are being diverted from their legitimate owners. Each day on average four firearms are stolen, which could be used in violent crimes, like carjacking or robberies of gas stations and banks. Hunters are even more of a risk group, once the lack of care of many of them has led the weapons to fall into wrong hands.

Last year, the country lived through an abnormally violent summer. In August, robberies with firearms took place one after the other, of which there were two well known examples of extreme violence: the robbery of the BES [Banco Espírito Santo — Holy Spirit Bank, by two Brazilians] of Campolide, Lisbon, solved with a PSP [Public Security Police] bullet; and the attack to the Prosegur [security company] van at the A2 [highway], in which an armed group got away with millions of Euros after it blew away with the back door of the bullet-proof vehicle [there’s no certainty about who committed this robbery, but the most well-known and informed thesis claims it was a group of sophisticated Eastern Europeans and French guys, also with some Portuguese connections].

The official data show that in the third trimester of the year (the summer months) violent criminality rose more than 16%, a substantial portion of the overall 10% rise in criminality last year, which concerns the most violent cases.

Fearing a new wave of violent crimes this summer, the authorities have concentrated their efforts. The sharing of information between the PSP, the GNR, and the PJ has been enhanced and the results have begun to appear: various groups dedicated to the robbery of ATMs, gas stations, or carjacking have been shut down. But a police source revealed to CM that these gangs are very unstable and the rotation of elements makes the police action more difficult.

The most sensitive areas for the occurrence of violent crimes have already been identified: The Sintra line, Oeiras, Cascais, the Southern Bank of the Tagus and the Great Oporto, that have deserved a special attention from the authorities.

Violent crime went down the first trimester of the year, but registered a light rise in the second trimester. The police guarantee an increased effort so that this year’s summer is calmer than that of 2008.

GOE [Group for Special Operations] SHOT TO KILL LIVE ON TV

In August 2008, the country saw on TV the end of an assault to the BES [a bank] of Campolide, solved through bullets of the PSP. The two robbers that had taken two functionaries hostages were shot. One died, the other, Wellington, will receive his sentence this Tuesday.

SPECIAL UNITS SPREAD ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Both the PSP and the GNR promise to decentralize their respective special units this summer. The Special Unit of the PSP (UEP) will continue to maintain, as it has done the whole year, a strategy of reinforcement of patrolling in every police command in the country, through the agents of the Intervention Body (CI).

The fluctuating population of the Algarve in the summertime equally [3 to 10 times the resident population] forces the relocation of CI’s agents to the main beach cities of the region. The GOE will also, whenever needed, augment the commands responsible by the patrolling of areas with a greater influx of tourists.

The PSP also will reinforce the policiamento à civil [undercover agents passing as average civilians], assigned to the transportation terminals of Lisbon and Oporto, and also in the localities and events with a greater concentration of tourists this summer.

The GNR, like the PSP, proposes to relocate their Intervention Unit (UI).. Since yesterday the 60 military men of the UI, trained in special operations, are keeping the public order and, using “cinotechnic” patrolling, are located in the GNR of Faro (Algarve), ready for any occurrence.

A commensurate relocation of the UI into other areas of the west coast of the country. The UI is equally charged with guaranteeing the safety of popular markets, religious festivities and the summer festivals happening in areas patrolled by the GNR.

“MORE AGENTS IN THE SUMMER” (Carlos Anjos, Union of Criminal Investigation Functionaries)

Correio da Manhã — Should we expect a wave of violent crime like that of the summer of 2008?

Carlos Anjos — It’s very difficult to make predictions, because nobody knows what will happen. Violent criminality has even gone down, but we don’t know what to expect this summer.

— Did the Judiciary Police (PJ) take special measures for this period?

- - - - - - - - -

— What happened is that there was concern about staff vacation schedule, so that more staff could be working during the summer.

— Is there any measure that should have been taken to prevent criminality?

— What we have long been against is the alteration of the penal laws of 2007, that limited the efficacy of the police action by raising obstacles to preventive arrest. These legislative changes never should have happened and need to be repealed.

ADVICE

DO NOT RESIST

If threatened with a firearm, do not resist and follow the instructions of the attackers. Remember that no goods or money can compensate for the loss of a life.

BE AWARE

Try to concentrate on the assaults and register any element that can help the investigators to identify the perpetrators later. If possible, note the car’s number plate.

REPORT TO THE POLICE

Always report to the authorities the crime committed against you. The information may be valuable for identifying the criminals.

SEARCH FOR HELP

If you feel that your car is being followed, immediately drive towards the closest police station and ask for help.

AVOID ACCIDENTS

If you come across an accident in an isolated place at night, do not stop. Call the authorities; they will investigate the case.

TAKE CARE

Try to travel with the windows closed and the doors locked, especially at night. This can be important to avoid carjacking.

NOTES

A2: THE ROBBERY OF THE CENTURY

A group presumed to be formed by foreign citizens attacked a bullet-proof van traveling on the A2 highway. They used explosives and weapons of war to get away with three million euros in cash.

SETÚBAL: GOLDSMITH KILLED

An armed robbery to a “precious-metals-shop” in Setúbal ended with the death of the owner of the shop, attacked by a Brazilian robber. The robber was arrested by the PJ days later.

CRIMES: POLICE MOBILIZATION

The violent crimes during the summer of 2008 forced a general mobilization of the security forces. In the PJ, many inspectors had to return from vacations earlier.

A note from Afonso Henriques:

But the police are not very happy here. I’ll leave you this video and the translation. I really think that the video sucks and it’s nothing special but it shows that there is a general (and strong and more-than-justified) discontent among the police.

This happened early last month.

The translation:

(Crowd): Liars! Liars! Liars!

(Reporter): Hats for the Prime Minister. It was the way found by these police officers to call for the attention of José Sócrates (the Prime Minister). They marched by the hundreds from the Assembly of the Republic towards the official residence of the Prime Minister to say they are tired of waiting. They accuse the government of not wanting to discuss the proposals they have presented for the status of the police. Among the police officers, spirits are high, and that could be seen on the streets of Lisbon.

(Police 1): Ah! You m**********s!

(Police 2): Calm! Calm!

(Police 1): You’re assassins!

(White Mustache Police): Who the hell are you pushing!? We’re not going away from here!

(Male Reporter): What do you have to say to the the Minister and to Mr. José Sócrates?

(Police 3): That they are great liars. They promise and do not do what they’ve promised, and we are here really to emphasize that.

(Male Reporter): And the hat, what can the Engineer José Sócrates do with this hat?

(Police 3): Put it down onto his head, to cover his eyes and the shame he’s going through and the shame he’s making us go through.

(Old woman with police hat): He should think more about the police officers and see that the police officers do their day-to-day job, and protect his back many times, and work too much under the hat.

(Male Reporter): And are the policemen victims of injustice?

(Old woman with police hat): A lot.

(Reporter): They want a pay raise, a risk subsidy and early retirement at the age of 55 or after 36 years of service. Exigencies that will not stop, even if they will have to fight for it by other means. The police officers now promise a strike for next month.