SIAP – Sindicato Independente dos Agentes de Polícia (Independent Union of Police Officers) – denounces the scenario of total lack of protection in the police stations of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, exposing its professionals to unacceptable risks and jeopardizing the safety of those who give their lives every day to defend the population.
At a time when cases of aggression against police officers are accumulating, it is unacceptable that the state continues to turn its back on the reality on the ground. The chronic lack of human and physical resources in the Azorean police stations is nothing new – it’s a long-standing problem that has been exacerbated by the continuous shortage of new staff, a direct reflection of the deteriorating conditions of police careers.
Currently, only the division headquarters has a sentry at the door when possible. Even these have been cut, leaving the stations vulnerable.
The majority of police stations operate with just one officer guaranteeing attendance, patrolling, the security of the premises, and their own physical integrity, without any immediate support. There are stations where, in the event of an invasion, there is no physical barrier between the aggressor and the officer. In practice, this is an invitation to violence and an attack on the dignity of those who serve with courage and dedication.
Faced with this scenario of total lack of protection, SIAP urgently demands an immediate increase in police personnel in the Azores from the National Directorate of the PSP, the Minister of Internal Affairs, and the current government.
The union also wants police stations where only one officer is on duty to operate behind closed doors, safeguarding the integrity of the profession.
It also demands that in cases where only one officer is assigned to patrol, the officer on duty should accompany the patrol, never leaving an officer alone.
The union finds it strange that “this institutional passivity continues; we are not dealing with mere operational failures – we are allowing the lives of our professionals to be put at risk.”
SIAP holds the competent authorities directly responsible for any tragedy that results from this blatant negligence, “because the lives of police officers are not disposable”, says SIAP’s statement.

In Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.