The PSP personnel in the Azores had a reinforcement of “10 agents and chief”, now adding 769 elements “in operational functions”, reported the Ministry of the Interior in response to the PSD parliamentary group on crime in the region.
In the question addressed to the AMI, the PSD deputies asked what is “the final balance (differential) to the current date of the total number of agents in operational missions of the PSP (except agents in administrative or rearguard functions) in the Azores, compared to cash on operational missions in January 2021.”
In the same document, dated July 11, the The Social Democrats warned that the Azores “are the only region in the country that is not covered by the coastal surveillance system.”
In the response, to which Lusa had access today, the MAI also indicates that “the procedures for the materialization” of the SIVICC project are under development. [Sistema Integrado de Vigilância, Comando e Controlo] Ultra, which is expected to be completed “by the end of the first quarter of 2023”.
“Regarding the SIVICC Ultra, despite the limitations derived from the lack of a State Budget in the first half of 2022, the procedures for the materialization of this project are already under development,” he says.
On the other hand, the guardianship recalls that the Government recently created the Commission for the Integrated Analysis of Juvenile Delinquency and Violent Crimes, “with the main objective of presenting proposals aimed at reducing juvenile delinquency and violent crimes, in particular serious thereof. ”.
The multidisciplinary team, which brings together various specialists and institutional partners, will involve, throughout its work, other entities, in particular from civil society and experts, to complete this analysis, which aims to be as complete as possible”, he adds. .
The questions of the PSD parliamentary group were based on the Annual Report on Internal Security for the year 2021 approved by the Superior Council of Internal Security, and the deputies indicated that, “in juvenile delinquency – minors between 12 and 16 years old – the trend seen in 2021 shows an increase in the number of violent crimes involving suspects within these age groups.”
“In the participation registered in this type of crime, the Azores stand out on the podium of the three highest promotions”, they warn.
Based on the same report, the Social Democrats noted that “in 2021, 9,998 crimes were reported in the Azores, 735 crimes more than in 2020, which represents an increase of 7.9%”.
“The increase in violent crime in the Azores last year was very significant. The 220 complaints made to the police authorities represent a growth of 14.6% compared to 2020. The Azores were even the fifth region of the country in which violent and serious crimes increased the most, in percentage terms, in 2021”, they specify. .
MAI recalls that 2020 and 2021 “were atypical years, due to the effects of the pandemic [Covid-19]”, so “the year 2019 should be taken as a reference”.
Despite this, it is important to point out that, in the first six months of 2022, there was a considerable drop in general crime, with 331 fewer crimes, which corresponds to a decrease of 6.9%”, highlights the ministry.
Regarding coastal surveillance, the deputies indicated that “preliminary studies have already been carried out on the locations for the installation of radars and optical systems that make up coastal surveillance, which is a fundamental and particularly effective technical instrument in the fight against drug trafficking. that enters the Azores by sea, on isolated beaches and coastal areas and without the regular surveillance presence of the authorities”.
“It is also essential to guarantee the protection of the environment and combat illegal fishing on the coast of the islands,” they stressed.
The PSD also pointed out that “the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) in progress, and which ends in 2026, is a unique opportunity to make this investment and that it cannot be missed, it is absolutely unacceptable that the Azores are the only region of the world .” country that does not have a Coastal Surveillance System”.
Source: Observadora
