National civil police force of Portugal
Law enforcement agency
Public Security Police
Policia de Seguranca Publica
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PSP logo
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PSP coat of arms
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Abbreviation
| PSP
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Motto
| Pela ordem e pela patria
For order and for the fatherland
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Formed
| July 2, 1867
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Employees
| 21,000
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National agency
(Operations jurisdiction)
| Portugal
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Operations jurisdiction
| Portugal
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Legal jurisdiction
| As per operations jurisdiction
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Governing body
| Government of Portugal
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General nature
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Headquarters
| Lisbon
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Elected officer responsible
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Agency executive
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Parent agency
| Ministry of Internal Administration
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www.psp.pt
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The
Policia de Seguranca Publica
MHTE
(
PSP
;
Public Security Police
) is the national civil police force of
Portugal
. Part of the Portuguese security forces, the mission of the PSP is to defend Republican democracy, safeguarding internal security and the rights of its citizens. Despite many other functions, the force is generally known for policing urban areas with uniformed police officers, while rural areas are normally policed by
National Republican Guard (GNR)
, the country's national
gendarmerie
force. PSP is focused in preventive policing, only investigating minor crimes. Investigation of serious crimes falls under the
Judicial Police
responsibility, which is a separate agency.
Since October 2023, the PSP is now in charge of controlling the Portuguese borders (alongside the GNR), with the dissolution of the SEF force.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Like most of Europe, until the Middle Ages the defence of public order was the responsibility of local communities, under the authority of feudal lords and courts.
[2]
In Portugal, there are few references to the administration of justice until the second half of the 15th century. With the reign of King
Afonso V
(under the regency of
Infante Pedro
) came the first ordinances and penal codes, known as the
Ordenacoes Afonsinas
.
[2]
These ordinances were reissued during the reign of King
John I
in 1514, after various changes under
Manuel I
. Some of the early judicial measures came from the early nobles.
Afonso Henriques
ordered the incarceration of women who lived with elements of the clergy, while in the era of Afonso II, under the influence of Visigothic codes and Roman law resulted in the appearance of the first general laws.
[2]
Similarly,
Afonso III
punished anyone who assaulted and robbed the home of another.
[2]
King
Pedro I
, the
Just
, decreed that anyone who falsified coins, gold or silver objects would have their hands and feet amputated.
However, criminals were provided shelters by which to flee justice: the churches, monasteries and "privileged" lands.
[2]
These privileged lands became areas of thieves and criminals, which resulted in King
John
extinguishing these areas. This was also something that King
Fernando
did with
bairros
, and only churches and convents became sanctuaries.
[2]
The first corps of police agents, the
Quadrilheiros
, was created by Fernando I, on 12 September 1383, consisting of 20 members, who were recruited by force from the strongest physical men, to serve Lisbon.
[2]
These men were subject to the town council for three years, and required to swear fealty and carry a weapon (a staff), which they would display at their homes, representing a symbol of their authority to arrest and direct criminals to the
Corregedores
(magistrates).
[2]
Since these men never received payment for their services, and since these activities were dangerous, most chose to escape the responsibility. For most, these services were intolerable, with little prestige, at various times resulting in bruises and wounds in the execution of their tasks.
[2]
Owing to this, by 1418, these constables were not required to circle the town. Later, Afonso V provided the
Quadrilheiros
, on 10 June 1460, with several social and economic privileges. However, these would disappear over time.
[2]
Even as Afonso V put into action other laws, regulations, advisories and ordinances, many were ineffective. King
Sebastian
promulgated laws on 31 January 1559, 17 January 1570, 12 July and 13 August 1571, to reinforce the laws of Fernando I,
Edward
and Afonso V.
[2]
To compensate the diminishing benefits of their service, the
Quadrilheiros
were exempt from paying taxes or military service.
[2]
Sebastian also ordered that Lisbon be divided into barrios, and that each should be administered by an official of justice, with discretionary powers.
[2]
On 12 March 1603, King
Philip II
ordered new regulations for the
Quadrilheiros
to reinforce their authority. The Lisbon Council, on 30 January 1617, determined that
Quadrilheiros
should have a label over their doors to identify them, and that the King should confer on them special privileges, such as sitting at the council table. King
John IV of Portugal
provided a new charter, and a decree on 29 November 1644, forced them (under terrible sanctions) to serve the public, working in the day and evenings.
[2]
By the first half of the 18th century, little had improved.
[2]
There continued to be a lack of policing, resulting in leis in 1701, 1702 and 1714. As new circuits were created to blanket the city, many of the criminals were aware that the laws transformed the situation into forgettable enclaves.
[2]
The
Quadrilheiros
continued to be a poor class, due to their limitations, resulting in poor public order.
After the
1755 Lisbon earthquake
new laws and resolutions were established to maintain public order and reduce anarchy.
[2]
Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Melo
, the
Marquess of Pombal
, found it necessary to create an organism to centralize all laws.
[2]
By law, on 25 June 1760, he created the
Intendencia da Policia da Corte e do Reino
(Police Quartermaster of the Court and the Kingdom), and the position of
Intendente-Geral da Policia da Corte e do Reino
(Quartermaster-General), with unlimited jurisdiction. The first Quartermaster-General was Inacio Ferreira Souto, at the same time that the term
policia
(police) was commonly used, and the
Quadrilheiros
were relegated to the evenings. However, this foundation did little to resolve criminal issues, and locks on doors, grades on windows and
blunderbusses
beside the bed continued to be important.
[2]
The
Intendente-Geral
was preoccupied with pursuing those who spoke badly of the King, Government or Pombal himself.
[2]
Between 1760 and 1780, chaos persisted. By decree, on 18 January 1780, Queen
Maria I of Portugal
named the old Criminal Judge for the
Bairro do Castelo de S. Jorge
,
Diogo Inacio de Pina Manique
, Intendente-Geral.
[2]
Instructed in laws at the University of Coimbra, he became a powerful chief: he began by expunging the police services of criminal elements, and took advantage of all laws to arrest all criminals or suspects in the
Alfama
,
Mouraria
,
Bairro Alto
and
Madragoa
, reorganizing the services and bringing a level of respectability to the department.
[2]
Around the same time, the
Guarda Real de Polcia
(Police Royal Guar') was founded on 25 December 1801, a militarized cavalry corps.
[2]
While correctional "houses" were established, the
Policia Sanitaria
(Sanitary Police) was established to curb prostitution. The
Casa Pia de Lisboa
was founded to collect abandoned children.
[2]
As the Police Royal Guard was overwhelmed with customs supervision, the
Guarda das Barreiras
was created, later to be replaced by the
Guarda das Alfandegas
(Customs Guard). In 1808 the General Loison, at the behest of the Quartermaster-General of the Royal Guard Police, established a
Policia Secreta
(Secret Police).
[2]
In 1823, the Liberal government established the
Guarda Nacional
(National Guard) and on 23 June 1824, a new secret police was reestablished, the
Policia Preventiva
(Preventative Police force).
[2]
On 21 August 1826 the
Guarda Real de Policia
was discontinued.
[2]
On 8 November 1833, the position of
Intendente-Geral
was discontinued with Jose Antonio Maria de Sousa e Azevedo. All the services of the police, from this period, were transferred to the prefects (later civil governors), of which the Prefect of the
Province of Estremadura
, Bento Pereira do Carmo, stands out.
[2]
The police prerogatives of this position remained temporary and territorial, influenced by prefects, general administrators and later civil governors.
[2]
On 18 April 1835, the kingdom was divided into 17 administrative districts, with a civil governor for each district, and divided into municipalities, civil parishes and ecclesiastical parishes. The civil governors were responsible for public security.
[2]
During a period of political confusion caused by the
Liberal Wars
, the
Guarda Real de Policia
was substituted by the
Guarda Municipal
(Municipal Guard), currently represented by the GNR, then created by Pereira do Carmo.
[2]
In this entanglement of police institutions, many times contradictory, the
Guarda Nacional
was dissolved in 1846.
[2]
Yet, the inconsistency of public security resulted in the 22 February 1838 law, that created a corps to maintain public security in each of the administrative districts of the country. Until this period, the laws, decrees and dispatches that were published provided better results in thefts and murders. The guards and judges, however, felt they were betrayed by threats and reprisals, which resulted in a demoralization of the profession.
[2]
To remedy this situation, King
Luis
ordered the publication of a law that founded a corps of civil police (2 July 1867). With the formation of the
Corpo de Policia Civil
, the foundations were laid for creating the Public Security Police.
[2]
Roles and responsibilities
[
edit
]
The PSP has the following police roles and responsibilities:
- Preventive Police:
includes the prevention of general or organised crime and protection from terrorism guaranteeing the security of people and goods (to the level of petty crime), in areas that are not specifically reserved for the
Policia Judiciaria
(PJ)
- Public Order:
this includes the responsibility for intervention and special operations
- Administrative Police:
this is the administrative arm of the security forces, including the responsibility for acts emanating from the competent authority and some matters of licensing
- Immigration law, refuge and asylum, extradition and expulsion, as well as border control:
since October 2023.
- Exclusive powers:
responsible for weapons control, ammunition and explosives, outside the authority of the armed and security forces, as well as guaranteeing the security for personnel of domestic and foreign entities, and other citizens subject to threat of person
- Special powers:
responsible for airport security and the protection of diplomatic missions both locally and internationally
- Special Programs:
responsible for educational programs, such as the Safe School, security of the elderly, trade insurance, spring insurance, domestic violence and the Integrated Policing of Proximity Program (PIPP)
Organisation
[
edit
]
The Public Security Police is headed by a National Director, who is under the dependency of the Minister of Internal Administration. Its internal organization includes the following components:
- National Directorate
, including:
- National Director
- Inspector General
- Deputy National Director for operations and security
- Deputy National Director for human resources
- Deputy National Director for logistics and finance
- Educational police establishments
, including:
- Higher Institute of Police Science and Internal Security (ISCPSI,
Instituto Superior de Ciencias Policiais e Seguranca Interna
) - university level police officer academy
- Practical School of Police (EPP,
Escola Pratica de Policia
) - constable training school
- Special Police Unit
, which includes as its sub-units:
- Intervention Corps (CI,
Corpo de Intervencao
) -
riot sub-unit
- Personal Security Corps (CSP,
Corpo de Seguranca Pessoal
) -
bodyguard
sub-unit
- Special Operations Group (
GOE,
Grupo de Operacoes Especiais
) - special operations and anti-terrorist sub-unit
- Centre for Inactivation of Explosives and Underground Security (CIEXSS,
Centro de Inativacao de Explosivos e Seguranca em Subsolo
) -
bomb disposal
and underground security sub-unit
- Canine Technical Operational Group (GOC,
Grupo Operacional Cinotecnico
) -
police dog
sub-unit
- Police territorial commands
, including
- Metropolitan commands (CoMet,
comandos metropolitanos
):
Lisbon
and
Porto
- Regional commands (CR,
comandos regionais
):
Azores
and
Madeira
- District commands (CD,
comandos distritais
):
Faro
,
Beja
,
Evora
,
Portalegre
,
Setubal
,
Santarem
,
Leiria
,
Castelo Branco
,
Coimbra
,
Aveiro
,
Viseu
,
Guarda
,
Braga
,
Viana do Castelo
,
Vila Real
and
Braganca
.
The regional and district commands have territorial jurisdiction over, respectively, the corresponding
autonomous regions
and
districts
. Despite their designations, the territorial jurisdictions of the metropolitan commands are not the
metropolitan areas of Lisbon
and
Porto
but are instead the
districts of Lisbon
and
Porto
.
The squad (
esquadra
in Portuguese) is the traditional basic police sub-unit of the PSP, each being usually headed by a Sub-Commissioner. Most of the squads are responsible for the generic territorial preventive policing of a given
area of responsibility
, which can be a neighbourhood of a large city or an entire small city. Each of these squads occupies a
police station
and because of that, by
metonymy
, the police stations are usually referred to as
esquadras
in Portugal. Besides the previous, there are also specialized squads (transit, criminal investigation, intervention, airport security, tourism support, etc.).
The minor territorial commands (district commands of Beja, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Evora, Guarda, Portalegre and Viana do Castelo) are directly sub-divided in squads. They usually include two or more territorial generic squads, a transit squad, a criminal investigation squad and an intervention and inspection squad.
In the major territorial commands (metropolitan commands, regional commands and district commands of Aveiro, Braga Coimbra, Faro, Leiria, Santarem, Setubal, Vila Real and Viseu) there is, however, an intermediate level of sub-unit between them and the squad, this being the division. These commands are thus organized in two or more divisions, each including several squads. The divisions can be generic (named "police divisions" and being responsible for a given area of responsibility) or specialized (transit, criminal investigation, airport security, installations security or public transportation security).
The municipal police of Lisbon and Porto are also manned by PSP members, who retain all their police powers. However, they are not under the operational command of the PSP, but are instead under the direct control of the
municipal governments
of
Lisbon
and
Porto
. These two police forces are thus different from the rest of the municipal police forces of the country, which are made of municipal employees with very limited police powers.
Personnel
[
edit
]
As of 2019, the entry level salary for a police officer in the PSP is 789 euros a month.
[3]
PSP police personnel is divided into three categories: officers, chiefs and agents. The access to the agent category requires the conclusion of a technical course in the Practical School of Police (EPP) at
Torres Novas
. The access to the category of chief is made through the promotion from the category of agent, after the conclusion of a specific course also at the EPP. The access to the officer category requires a previous graduation from the Higher Institute of Police Sciences and Internal Security (ISCPSI), a
university
-level
police academy
.
The various categories, ranks, insignia and respective main functions are:
- Chief Superintendent
: National Director of the PSP
- Chief Superintendent
: Deputy National Director or Inspector General of the PSP
- Chief Superintendent
:
commanding officer
of a metropolitan / regional command
- Superintendent
: commanding officer of a district command or
second-in-command
of a metropolitan / regional command
- Intendent
: division commander in a metropolitan / regional command or second-in-command of a district command
- Sub-Intendent
: division commander in a district command or second-in-command of a division commanded by an intendent
- Commissioner
: second-in-command of a division commanded by a sub-intendent
- Sub-Commissioner
: commanding officer of a police squad (police station)
- Principal Chief
: auxiliary of a unit commanding officer
- Chief
: supervisor of staff and leader of police teams
- Principal Agent
: a senior principal agent may perform the same functions as a chief, others perform the same functions as an agent
- Agent
: functions of police constable
- Officer Candidate
: student of the 5th year of the Training Course for Police Officers (CFOP)
- Cadet
: student of the 4th year of the CFOP
- Cadet
: student of the 3rd year of the CFOP
- Cadet
: student of the 2nd year of the CFOP
- Cadet
: student of the 1st year of the CFOP
Vehicles
[
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]
Models
[
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]
Since 2004, the
Skoda Octavia
has been the principal model of
patrol car
used by the Public Security Police. Since 2018 PSP is receiving hundreds of
Renault Captur
patrol vehicles, many equipped with
Federal Signal
push bumpers
, to replace older patrol cars. However, a number of other models are also in service, including
Nissan Leaf
,
Renault Zoe
,
Fiat Tipo
,
Toyota Avensis
and
Toyota RAV4
jeeps. Single apprehended
Audi R8
,
BMW i8
,
Porsche 996 Turbo
and
Subaru Impreza Prodrive
are used as special pursuit cars.
Ground speed radar
equipped
Toyota Avensis
and
Volkswagen Sharan
minivans are used for traffic enforcement, such as some
Audi A4 3.0 TDI
and
Bmw 335i
unmarked patrol cars
, while some
Toyota Hilux
pickup trucks and
Land Rover Defender
jeeps are used for patrolling non urban and mountainous areas.
A huge number
vans
are also in service, including newer
Mercedes-Benz Metris
and
Sprinter
(with flip down wire shield across the windscreen) and
Citroen Berlingo
to
prisoners transport
.
The Special Police Unit uses several special vehicles, including
MAN
tow trucks
, Iveco
water cannons
and armored vehicles, such as two Ford Streit and some
Volkswagen Sharan
(with flip down wire shield across the windscreen and
Federal Signal
front
push bumper
).
[4]
Vehicle appearance
[
edit
]
PSP vehicles have some lack of uniform appearance due to the successive introduction of new liveries which however are usually only applied to new vehicles, with the existing ones keeping the original old ones.
The most recent livery for the PSP vehicles was introduced in 2014. The basic version of this livery consists in a white body with diagonal blue stripes, the wording "POLICIA" (police) in blue
sans-serif
lettering in the sides, rear and bonnet and a logo with the national colors on the front side panels. For the traffic patrol vehicles there is a variant, which intermediates red stripes with the blue ones and has the wording "TRANSITO" (transit) on the rear side panels. Another variant of the livery is its negative version (blue, with the stripes and wording in white) to be applied in vans and special vehicles. The three variants have been applied to most of the vehicles acquired after 2014. However, other vehicles carry older or not standard liveries, namely the 2004 livery (similar to the 2014 livery, but with the wording "POLICIA" in serif letters - which are inclined in the sides - and the PSP coat of arms instead of the national colors logo), the 1991 livery (blue body with doors, trunk and bonnet in white and crossed by red stripes), the 1979 livery (blue body with white front doors), the all blue body (used by most of the vans and special vehicles) and several special police programs (Safe School, Tourism support, etc.) liveries.
A restored
Volkswagen Beetle
historical patrol car - kept for use in ceremonies and exhibitions - is anachronistically painted with the 1979-1991 livery, instead of the original livery used by the PSP in the 1960s and 1970s, which consisted in a blue body and grey mudguards, with the word "POLICIA" on the doors.
Vehicles photos
[
edit
]
Equipment
[
edit
]
- Handguns
- Shotguns
- Submachine guns
- Less Lethal
- Rifles
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Africa
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Americas
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Asia and Oceania
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Europe
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States with limited recognition
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Defunct
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