The “vast majority” of Lisbon’s municipal neighborhoods “have clearly improved their perception of security” in the last 30 years, said this Thursday, October 23, the commander of the PSP’s Lisbon Metropolitan Command, pointing to “some pockets of insecurity” linked to drug trafficking.
“Neighborhoods today do not have the stigma they once had in the past, not only due to the improvement of infrastructure but also due to the care taken in maintenance and security”said Luís Elias, at a conference to mark 30 years of the municipal company Gebalis, responsible for managing the municipal districts.
The commander of the PSP’s Lisbon Metropolitan Command, who has followed the last three decades of the city’s transformation as a police force, considered that “there has been a radical change” with the construction of municipal housing, as well as the investment in equipment to serve the communities.
“The housing change that was carried out with the aim of relocating people and families who in the past lived in tents or in very precarious housing, with all the marginalization that was associated with some of these areas, was fundamental for the safety of the city”indicated Luís Elias, noting that today there is “a continuum” regarding housing in Lisbon and “it is not possible to identify what the municipal neighborhoods actually are”.
According to the head of the PSP, “the vast majority of Lisbon’s municipal neighborhoods, “with the exception of one or two”, “the perception of security has clearly improved”.
“For example, the Quinta do Condado neighborhood, which was once called Zone J of Chelas, nowadays has nothing to do with what it was 20 or 30 years ago, in terms of even the perception of insecurity”explained.
Despite this positive evolution, “not everything is well, because, unfortunately, some pockets remain [de insegurança] in some areas that are known, particularly linked to drug trafficking”said the commander of the PSP Lisbon Metropolitan Command, saying that he is working to resolve the problem.
“The problem cannot only be solved by the security forces, because there is a social and health dimension here that also has to be upstream, because, as is known, national legislation treats, for example, drug addiction as a public health problem and it is extremely important that public authorities continue to support these programs to support drug addiction or reintegrate drug addicts”highlighted Luís Elias, reinforcing that it is very important that these programs are maintained and that there is no disinvestment in them.
The head of the PSP also highlighted “the theory of broken windows”, with the issue of vandalism of property, considering that there has been a concern for there to be constant repair and improvement of properties, “which also contributes to the public perception of safety”as well as public lighting and cleanliness, as factors that also contribute to this perception, in addition to the work of the police.
The commander of the PSP Lisbon Metropolitan Command also praised proximity policing, with many projects developed in partnership with residents’ associations and cultural associations, highlighting the RADAR project with Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa to monitor isolated elderly people, as well as the referral of cases of juvenile delinquency.
As a challenge in managing municipal housing, Luís Elias pointed to the integration of people, particularly those living in disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions, providing them with “more opportunities”, arguing that “it’s not just investing in housing that’s important, it’s everything else”.
Gebalis administrator Miguel Silva Pereira highlighted the development of social projects in municipal neighborhoods, such as Talentos do Bairro and Bora Mexer, saying that this dynamization allows the “empowerment” of residents and shows that “the neighborhoods produce, they just need the opportunity, because the quality is there, equal to the rest of the city and the country”.
Currently, Gebalis manages 66 municipal neighborhoods in Lisbon, with a total of around 22 thousand homes.