The Mayor of Funchal, Pedro Calado again sent a letter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), asking for “urgency” in the issue of the city’s security.
In a press release, the Mayor said:
“The Municipality of Funchal returned “even today” to contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs, specifically with the sending of “another missive,” asking for the “urgency” in the answers in order to solve the issue of security, especially the “application of concrete and effective measures of greater policing, in tourist areas,” but also in high areas, protecting residences and people who are living alone.
The Mayor of Funchal also said it is essential that there is an “intervention and deterrent capacity” for “individuals who are drug users and pushers who, on a daily basis, harm the normal life and daily life” of the city and its citizens.
In the context of the concrete measures that are necessary on the part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Mayor again mentioned, as a solution, which, moreover, has already been requested but not granted “programmes” such as those that allow policing by the National Republican Guard (GNR), who are already based in the region, to work alongside the Public Security Police.”
This idea was reinforced by Pedro Calado when he reaffirmed that “it is not to replace the PSP, but to act as a complementary security force.”
Pointing out that the response from the MAI was mainly negative, Pedro Calado explained that the response of the Minister of Internal Affairs was that, at this time, it was not advisable to make such an implementation given that it was necessary to understand the internal issues between PSP and GNR. This, they affirmed, was not a workable solution as it would be nothing more than a time-wasting exercise with working groups studying the best way that the two forces could work concurrently.
In short, said the Mayor: “Two years on, and we are still playing with the working groups and coordinating committees. What we need is to put into practice objective and concrete solutions that already exist at a national level.
The solution, the Mayor reaffirmed, is “that we need more officers on the ground and instead of throwing money at the problem we have two security forces that can work together to benefit our local communities.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
