Lisbon, Nov. 28, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's prime minister has announced that the government will approve on Thursday in a Cabinet meeting the authorisation of more than €20 million in spending for the acquisition of more than 600 vehicles for the PSP and GNR police forces.
Luís Montenegro was speaking to journalists on Wednesday evening at the end of a meeting lasting around an hour with the minister for justice, Rita Júdice, the interior minister, Margarida Blasco, the national director of the Judicial Police, the commander-general of the GNR, the national director of the PSP and the deputy secretary-general of the Internal Security System.
"I have repeatedly said that Portugal is a safe country, it is even one of the safest countries in the world, but this context has to be worked on and achieved every day," he argued.
In a statement shortly after 8pm, Montenegro made an assessment of an operation underway since 4 November between various police and administrative forces, ‘Portugal Always Safe’, announcing that it has already resulted in the dismantling of "two criminal networks in the field of illegal immigration and human trafficking".
The prime minister also said that "investigations are underway into recent events that have altered public peace", referring to the disturbances in Greater Lisbon following the death of Cabo Verdean citizen Odair Moniz, shot dead by a policeman in the early hours of 21 October in the Cova da Moura neighbourhood.
Asked if he planned to visit the affected neighbourhoods, on a day when the country's president announced that he had lunch with his Cabo Verdean counterpart in Cova da Moura, Montenegro replied that members of the executive "are on the ground every day" and recalled that the government has already met with the local council leaders and the associations representing the residents of these neighbourhoods.
"We don't have any problem being on the ground when we need to be on the ground, but we're there with the people," he said, emphasising that he had also received the president of Cabo Verde, José Maria Neves, in São Bento on Wednesday.
At this meeting, he thanked the head of state for "the sense of responsibility of the Cabo Verdean authorities" in this process and listened to the conclusions of José Maria Neves' interaction with the representatives of associations from the neighbourhoods that the political leader visited.
"We will continue to act within the framework of all this and we will do what is our duty. We won't leave anyone behind, we look at reality in a transversal way, knowing that all contexts must be taken into account, family, social, labour, the context of access to fundamental goods such as education, housing, health. We are very committed to being able to serve the country as a whole and, of course, to serve these areas as well," he said.
In Operation ‘Portugal Always Safe’, which runs until mid-December, the prime minister explained that more than 170 operations have been carried out, involving more than 4,000 personnel from the various forces involved, and that more than 7,000 people and more than 10,000 motor vehicles have been checked.
"So far, more than 2,000 fines have been issued, several seizures have been made and two criminal networks have already been dismantled, in the areas of illegal immigration and human trafficking," he said.
At the end of his speech, Montenegro assured that the government will continue "the path of enhancing the careers and remuneration of professionals who work in the public administration, particularly in the police forces".
"We also want to invest more in the resources that are available to fulfil these missions. Tomorrow (Thursday), at the Cabinet meeting, we will be approving a spending authorisation of more than €20 million for the acquisition of more than 600 light and heavy vehicles and motorbikes for the Public Security Police (PSP) and the National Republican Guard (GNR)," he said.
SMA/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
