The ‘Safe Tourism Programme’ is part of the GNR’s ‘Safe Summer 2017’ operation, which the force carries out every year in the months of July and August.
The GNR’s Safe Summer operations consist of reinforcing patrols throughout the country, especially in locales near the beach and at large-scale events, as well as clamping down on roads.
The ‘Safe Tourism Programme’, as explained by Captain Raquel Valente, has the main objectives of supporting tourists, guaranteeing their safety and combating crime targeting them, whether they are national or foreign visitors.
As well as reinforcing specialised patrols designated to look out for, welcome and attend tourists, GNR officers will also be staging information and awareness-raising actions to prevent potential risks and dangers during vacations.
To further push the programme and facilitate proximity between officers and tourists - and within the scope of international cooperation – six Spanish Civil Guard and three Gendarmarie Nationale French military personnel will be in Portugal for the summer, the GNR said.
Raquel Valente said that the Spanish and French military, who arrived in Portugal on Wednesday, will help patrol the busiest tourist hotspots in the Algarve, Lisbon and Setúbal, during the months of July and August.
According to the GNR, policing has been reinforced throughout the Algarve, including mounted officers and canine units.
During the summer, the GNR will havea permanent reinforcement of 193 military personnel and a “non-permanent” back-up of 450 elements, dispatched to the region whenever there are events that attract a large amount of people.
Raquel Valente added that the reinforcement for the GNR covers the whole of the Algarve and not just Albufeira.
Four GNR officers have also been sent to reinforce patrolling in the Spanish tourist areas that are most frequented by the Portuguese, such as Pontevedra and Huelva, and there is also an increase in mixed troops with the Guardia Civil along the border.
As part of the “Safe Summer 2017” operation, the GNR also operates the ‘Direct Key Programme’, which aims to ensure the safety of homes while owners are on vacation, with officers patrolling the properties during owners’ absences.
To join this programme, all the owner has to do is register online at: https://veraoseguro.mai.gov.pt/Pages/Home.aspx, or fill out an application at their local GNR station.
According to the GNR, the ‘Direct Key Programme’ is active until 15 September and over the last two summers, 3,750 households were registered, with only one being robbed.
During summer the GNR, through its Coastal Control Unit, also reinforces surveillance of the country’s coast and sea, particularly spots that offer “better conditions for drugs being brought ashore.”