Rui Moreira rejects more powers for the Municipal Police

Porto City Council President Rui Moreira once again rejected the need to grant more powers to the municipal police on Friday and considered that the “sheriffization” of the territory “is not appropriate.”

"It seems to me that what the Municipal Police (PM) should do—and has been doing—is relieve the PSP of certain tasks that were its responsibility, namely traffic, as has already been done, and which has freed the PSP to perform its most noble function: protection and security. This complementarity is what I advocate. I believe that the 'sheriffization' of the territory is not at all appropriate, " the mayor argued, speaking on the sidelines of the Porto Municipal Police's 87th anniversary celebrations.

At the Francos Collection Station, where the Porto Municipal Police services will now be concentrated, Rui Moreira reinforced the need for complementarity and cooperation between the two police forces, and recalled that strengthening the Municipal Police's powers would require these officers to also conduct criminal investigations.

"I don't see any need or interest in starting to conduct criminal investigations, which we would have to do if we had other powers. Criminal investigations in Portugal are conducted by the PSP, PJ, and GNR, and in our view, that's enough ," he stated.

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In September 2024, the mayor said he disagreed with the increase in powers for the PM, which at the time was being defended by the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, and which he considered that it “creates entropy, distrust and does not solve the problem” .

In his speech at Friday's ceremony, Rui Moreira said he believed it was nothing new that Porto was struggling with "some pockets of insecurity," highlighting hate crimes against immigrants, violence in nightlife areas, petty theft, and drug trafficking in public spaces.

Taking these examples, the outgoing president considered that state investment to strengthen security in the city " remains below what is necessary " and that it is not "consistent" with what the city government does in terms of preventing and combating crime.

"Since 2015, the Municipal Police force has nearly tripled its number of personnel. There has also been a significant investment in resources and equipment, which now has 80 vehicles, most of which are electric, like the ones we see here today," he explained.

The mayor believes it is "imperative" that there be a "more efficient" geographical redistribution of existing PSP stations and a "concrete investment" in human resources in the Porto Metropolitan Command.