Of every 100 officers reported, only one was prevented from putting on their uniform again. And even after being convicted, several police officers continue to practice their profession.
Domestic violence carried out by members of the police is still a delicate topic and both victims and the associations that defend them are asking for more speed in the assessment of these processes, especially because possible aggressors have privileged access to documents.
“There is a greater obligation here to be faster in investigating and even determining the truth regarding these situations internally. It seems to us that the greatest difficulty for organizations in moving forward with these processes is because in the vast majority of cases, and the system often does this, some repercussion is given to the aggressor in the sense that let’s see if this happened before we even move forward”, says Daniel Cotrim, Portuguese victim support association.
reveals that the crime of domestic violence has only appeared autonomously for 5 years in the reports and, since then, there have been 495 disciplinary cases against PSP agents and GNR soldiers. Which, according to the newspaper’s calculations, equates to an average of 99 crimes per year and 2 per week.
According to data collected by the report, of 401 closed cases, 59 resulted in convictions, three written reprimands, 45 suspensions and five dismissals or forced suspensions. The lack of evidence has often led to these types of cases being closed. Eight days ago, the minister asked for justice for the victims of these crimes.
“Many people think that domestic violence is just a family issue, but domestic violence is not a family issue, it is a crime. And I want to draw special attention to this fact because words are also actions. Victims of crime must occupy a top position in the judicial system, and I am not just talking about victims of domestic violence crimes, but victims of all crimes against people or property”, said Rita Judice, Minister of Justice.
Complaints can be submitted in person, by email, in writing to the PSP, the GNR, the Judiciary Police picket line or the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
