Lisbon, Dec. 19, 2025 (Lusa) - The mayor of Portugal's capital city, Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, has once again called on the Government for "immediate reinforcement" of 100 municipal police officers for the city, highlighting the loss of personnel in recent years.
In a new letter sent to the interior minister, Maria Lúcia Amaral, dated 15 December and accessed by Lusa on Friday, Carlos Moedas reports that the Lisbon Municipal Police force currently has a "total of 390 police officers available", a number that will decrease in the coming months and years "due to the rate of retirement of officers in service or the end of their term of service".
According to the mayor, in 2018 the Lisbon Municipal Police had 582 police officers and the drop in "33% of the number of staff is completely disproportionate to the recruitment difficulties at the Public Security Police level".
Carlos Moedas points out that, in the same period, the number of officers in the Public Security Police Lisbon Metropolitan Command (Cometlis) saw only "a reduction of just 4%".
As this is an issue that has been raised on several occasions, the Social Democrat mayor once again calls on the minister for "immediate and urgent reinforcement, the opening of a recruitment drive with a view to filling 100 positions (four officers and 96 agents, preferably aged 35 or over) for the Lisbon Municipal Police force".
According to the law, he adds, the Municipal Police requires "a total of 700 officers", a number that is far from the current number in service.
Last June, when the new government took office, Carlos Moedas sent a letter to Maria Lúcia Amaral requesting a meeting to discuss measures to provide humanistic policing and strengthen security resources in Lisbon.
At the time, the mayor referred to the "situation of insecurity and violence experienced in the city in recent times" to justify the urgent request for a meeting, in order to find "measures with immediate effects that can respond to the problems effectively".
The mayor has also highlighted the importance of community policing in the city, noting an increase in the perception of crime, as well as the need to reinforce the Public Security Police and give more powers to the Municipal Police.
After an initial meeting with the interior minister in July, Carlos Moedas told journalists that a specific security plan for the city would be drawn up jointly, although no date had yet been set for its implementation.
At the time, the mayor said that "an acceleration" of video surveillance in the district had also been discussed, noting the existence of 32 cameras in Cais do Sodré and another 30 in Campo das Cebolas districts that were "just waiting to be connected".
Carlos Moedas went so far as to ask the former interior minister to install video surveillance in areas of the city such as Martim Moniz, Mouraria, Arroios, São Domingos de Benfica, and Avenida da Liberdade.
Lisbon currently has 64 video surveillance cameras.
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Lusa
