The National Director of the Judicial Police (PJ), Luís Neves
Heard in Parliament this Wednesday, Luís Neves presented several data on crime in Portugal, with hatred crimes to jump in sight. And he stressed, “Respect the perceptions, but what is said does not correspond to the truth.”
“We have a lot of fake news, a lot of misinformation, a lot of racism – the basis of hate crimes,” said the director of the Judiciary Police (PJ) in the Assembly of the Republic.
At the opening of hearing in the Constitutional Affairs Committee, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, at the request of the Liberal Initiative (IL), which requested “clarification on the real state of crime in Portugal”, Luís Neves spoke about some of the numbers related to violent crimenoting that “from 2010 there were large peaks of violent crime, which then stabilizing until the pandemic period.”
In a document delivered to the deputies, it was possible to verify that the Crimes against cultural or personal identitywhere the hate crimes are included, fired 9075% between 2011 and 2023.
“There is talk of ‘perceptions of insecurity’, but we have no scientific study validated in relation to this matter. This is the big question. If we talk about transparency and truth is not to adjust the data to a narrative of each, but have safe data. That’s what I tried to do, ”he explained.
“Foreigner is not necessarily an immigrant”
Luís Neves then again put the ‘points in the is’ regarding the connection between crime and immigration.
“An immigrant is foreign, but a foreigner is not necessarily an immigrant. Chains have a lot of people who are foreigner, but not immigrant”Said Luís Neves.
Luís Neves also said that PJ has data on the nationality of all detainees, but its disclosure is not allowed.
“PJ knows the nationality of all our detainees, but we do not share [esses dados] Because it has not been allowed to share, ”explained Luís Neves regarding the issue of introducing nationality in the Annual Internal Security Report (Rasi), which has been discussed in recent times.
“It is possible to note that The number of prisoners does not follow the increase in the number of foreigners resident in Portugal, including a descent of 28.08% of foreigners in 2023compared to 2013, while the number of foreigners residing in Portugal increased by 160%, ”says the analysis delivered to the deputies.
And “despite observing a slight increase in the percentage of foreign prisoners between 2021 and 2023, comparing the 2013 values with those of 2023 is a decrease of 1.8%”, quotes the.
Furthermore, “The Portuguese courts, in a similarity between a national and a foreigner, arrest tendentially another foreigner, for the matter of danger of escape. It does not mean that then this person is condemned, because there is a presumption of innocence, or that, being condemned, he is sentenced to an effective imprisonment. ”
Domestic violence: “a national shame”
Luís Neves also highlighted the crimes of homicide and domestic violence, which represent a high percentage of the total crimes committed.
“This is a national shame, these crimes are mostly committed by national citizens,” he added: “In 90% are committed by national citizens.”
