The Secretary of State for Internal Administration promised, this Friday morning, police reinforcement and the creation of mixed security teams for neighborhoods in Porto where drug consumption has increased. Isabel Oneto met, in Lisbon, with the associations of residents of the Marechal Gomes da Costa, Condominhas and Músicos neighborhoods, which are neighbors of the Pasteleira neighborhood, the epicenter of drug trafficking in Porto, and were concerned regarding the alleged increase of insecurity.
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs [MAI] made itself available to work in order to form mixed teams, at the level of the various ministries involved, to reactivate local security contracts (meetings between local entities and residents to discuss solutions), which were deactivated during the pandemic, and to reinforce the police presence”, he told JN Guilherme Magalhães, from the association of residents of Condominhas, at the beginning of the followingnoon of yesterday, already at the end of the hearing.
The meeting was requested by the residents’ associations to the Secretary of State for Internal Administration, who admitted difficulties in coordinating with the Ministries of Health, Social Security and Justice. But, according to the same source, she “left the commitment to appeal to the other ministries involved to resolve the problem”.
“There are many things that collide with other entities that also have an important role in this, particularly the Ministry of Health. Consumption is right there on the border between crime and health problems and there is a moment when (the Ministry of Internal Administration) it is no longer able to act. There is no harmony in the policies to mitigate this problem, it is important that this coordination is effective, and we feel that the Ministry is willing to make a broader awareness among the other ministries”, explained Guilherme Magalhães, referring to the problems shared by the Secretary of State.
The associations made “a positive assessment” of the meeting and are going to request audiences from other ministries. “If there is not an adequate legal framework and multi-party action on several fronts, we will not get anywhere”, justified Guilherme Magalhães, warning that “the problem is getting worse and starting to happen in other cities, such as Braga and Lisbon”. .
More thefts and more distrust
Residents allege that thefts have increased in the Marechal Gomes da Costa, Condominhas and Músicos neighborhoods.
“We see growing insecurity and people becoming angry. In addition to insecurity, social instability and distrust in relation to governments, whether local or national”, pointed out spokesman Guilherme Magalhães.