Moedas calls for additional police for Lisbon: “Security worries me

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas stated that he wanted a more visible police presence in the capital and requested the government to appoint 200 additional PSP personnel, which he said had previously been promised. The police union also draws attention to the lack of personnel and vehicles in some police stations.

Moedas wants more police in Lisbon

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas stated that he was concerned about the security situation in the city and repeated his call for more police officers.

Moedas said the government had promised 200 additional Public Security Police (PSP) personnel for Lisbon, but this reinforcement had not yet been seen on the ground. The mayor also stated that the request for 100 municipal police officers was not met.

Sources from the Ministry of Internal Affairs argue that the staff reinforcement in Lisbon has started to be implemented and that the security policy cannot be reduced to the number of personnel alone.

Personnel and vehicle warning from the union

Paulo Santos, president of ASPP/PSP, which represents PSP members, stated that the personnel and working conditions in some police stations were inadequate and asked for a solution from the government.

This statement of the union reflects the professional assessment that the current staff and tools are insufficient in some regions. Up-to-date, detailed official data regarding how many police stations or how many personnel these allegations cover across the city has not been published.

What do official data say?

According to Portugal's 2025 Annual Internal Security Report, overall crimes recorded across the country increased by 3.1 percent compared to the previous year. In contrast, records in the violent and serious crime category decreased by 1.6 percent, according to the report.

The report says some of the increase in overall crime is linked to increased enforcement and police proactivity in areas such as traffic offences, possession of prohibited weapons and disobedience.

These data are for the whole country. The fact that individual crime cases become more visible in the media or the perception of safety in some neighborhoods does not alone indicate that violent crimes in Lisbon have increased citywide.

PTNewsHub review

Recent violent incidents reflected in the media make many Lisbon residents feel more concerned about security. Warnings of staff shortages also explain why the expectation of visible patrols and rapid response has strengthened. However, in order to carry out the security debate in a healthy way, it is necessary to evaluate the perception created by the events together with the regularly published official crime data.

Practical knowledge

In case of urgent risk or crime, 112 should be called in Portugal. In non-emergency cases, PSP, GNR or online complaint channels can be used depending on the nature of the incident; The crime scene, time, witness information and evidence, if any, must be preserved.

RTP: Carlos Moedas calls for visible police presence in Lisbon

Portuguese Government: 2025 Annual Internal Security Report summary

RASI 2025 full report

Lusa: PSP union's warning about personnel and police station conditions