Luís Neves stressed that in an institution the size of the PSP “there will always be one or another who will break the rule”, but “this departure from the rule, this lack of commitment, this violation has to be identified”.
The Minister of Internal Administration expressed confidence this Thursday “absolutely unshakable” in the PSP regarding respect for fundamental rights, but stated that it will not tolerate any deviant behavior or violations by police officers.
Luís Neves, who this Thursday had its first public ceremony when presiding over the solemn opening session of the 2025/2026 academic year of the Higher Institute of Police Sciences and Internal Security, highlighted that cases of police violence and alleged involvement of police in Nazi groups are isolated.
“As a minister, I want to say very clearly that I will always understand any excess that may have occurred because they wanted to have done well, because they wanted to have acted, because they wanted to comply with the law, because many times, being alone, they wanted to take action as a police officer because it was their duty. Then they will have my support, my support and my understanding”, said the new minister in his first official speech.
However, he maintained that “in isolated cases and in which the issue is different, in which the violation is prepared, intentional, or repeated, they will never count on any understanding of these acts.”
“I say this aware that I am facing a security force, of very noble people, people who respect, people who carry out their mission every day, with brilliance, with honor, with determination”, he said.
Luís Neves stressed that in an institution the size of the PSP “There will always be one or the other who breaks the rule”, but “this departure from the rules, this lack of commitment, this violation has to be identified”.
“My confidence in the Public Security Police institution, at this level of respect for fundamental rights, is absolutely unshakable,” he said, referring to recent issues involving police officers.
Luís Neves highlighted the work that PSP has done from a training point of view, both in initial training and in training throughout the career, as well as in identifying “cases in recruitment” e “that may turn out to be deviant”.
At the end of the ceremony and in statements to journalists, the minister stated that “discipline, respect for fundamental rights and all forms of human diversity are the baseline of any institution.”
“The Public Security Police is one of the great institutions, just like the National Republican Guard, the security forces work this way, they have a basis of great respect, but in thousands of men and women there are sometimes deviations from the law, and these deviations from the law, when they violate these rights, must, in fact, be punished”, he highlighted.
At the ceremony, Luís Neves, said he felt at home at the Higher Institute of Police Sciences and Internal Security, where he had been dozens of times and was “always cherished”, and that it was on his agenda to be present at this PSP session as director of the Judiciary Police.
“I’m a minister, but I’ll always be a police officer”, said Luís Neves.
In turn, the national director of the Public Security Police, Luís Carrilho, praised the leadership work done by the new Minister of Internal Administration while he was in charge of the Judiciary Police.
“Over the years, in which he served as national director of the Judiciary Police, institutional cooperation with the PSP was constant, loyal and productive. In multiple fields, from criminal investigation to information sharing, from training to operational coordination, we always found in his leadership a spirit of openness, mutual trust and commitment to the public interest”, he said.
