The national director of the Judiciary Police (PJ), Luís Neves
The national director of the Judiciary Police (PJ), Luís Neves, says that the feeling of insecurity is generated by the increase in misinformation and “hybrid threats”, highlighting that the numbers of violent crime refute this idea and that there is no connection with the increase of immigration.
Luís Neves criticized the idea that the country is in a situation “without a king and without castling” when it comes to security, contesting the “polarization of the discussion” around the topic, and drew applause from the audience.
The PJ director spoke during the conference about the 160 years of Diário de Notícias, under the theme “The Portugal we have and what we want to have”.
“We are witnessing a moment of disinformation, ‘fake news’ and hybrid threats and that is all that leads to the perception of insecurity”, stated the leader, also placing responsibility on the media for this feeling.
“Today we have several television channels that they pass over and over again what is news of a crime“, he explained, recognizing that this “creates an idea of insecurity that has nothing to do with the real crime.”
Remember the “attacks on ATMs with explosives” and the deaths at gas stations?
By way of comparison, Luís Neves recalled recent times, namely the “attacks on ATMs with explosives” and deaths that occurred during gas station robberies.
“Does anyone remember the 80s and 90s? heroin use where there was no family that didn’t have a relative who had suffered”, asked the director of the PJ. remembering that you could not enter “Arroios and Intendente”.
“Do you want to compare these periods with the period in which we live and say that today is bad?” he asked.
Luís Neves recalled numbers of 2009when it was verified 888 attacks to security vans and value transport, banks or gas stations.
“Today we do not have 4% of these attacks“, he assured.
The word to those who know. 4 minutes of the PJ director dismantling the immigration conversation and perceptions with facts.
— volksvargas (@volksvargas)
Theft and domestic violence are the main crimes
Today, the reason for arrest – serving a sentence or preventive detention – is most common crime simple and qualified theft, followed by, explained the PJ leader
Luís Neves also rejected the idea that foreigners are responsible for relevant levels of .
“In 2009, we had 631 foreigners” detained in a universe of 400 thousand immigrants, he pointed out, stressing that in 2024, in the face of more than a million foreigners residing in Portugal, the “detainees ratio is the second lowest” since this type of accounting has existed.
Regarding foreigners and crime, Luís Neves mentioned cases that are related to “transnational criminal organizationscybercrime or drugs”, as well as “crime against property” which has international connections.
“They are not immigrants” those involved in these cases, he explained, also highlighting that Portugal is the gateway to the European Union for those coming from Latin America and Africa, and that Portuguese prisons reflect the presence of drug transport “mules” who, normally, “are poor people”.
“We arrest a year [este tipo de casos] in dozens and sometimes in hundreds”, he highlighted.
120 foreign prisoners in a universe of 10 thousand
Looking at the detained in PortugalLuís Neves said that, excluding those from non-European countries, Africa and Latin America that are related to crimes that have nothing to do with immigrants, the values are very low.
There is “120 people from other countries who are trapped in a universe of more than 10 thousand”, he revealed.
However, he tried to point out that “any number of crimes is a worrying number” and that it should make us all think “what are the best models for mitigating” crime, particularly violent crime.
Confronted by journalists, the PJ director admitted that It is necessary to control who is here.
“States receiving immigrants have the right and, more than the right, they have the obligation to know who is herebecause knowing who is here, public integration policies and all others that are instrumental or adjacent to this integration benefit”, as well as the “immigrant himself”.
These types of people “often fall victim to the claws of human traffickerscriminal organizations and illegal immigration”, he stated.
And with updated information, these networks “no longer have the area to exploit these people”, he concluded.
