"We are prepared", assured Eduardo Cabrita, the minister of Internal Administration, today, Saturday, in Faro. The member of the Government was present at the presentation of the security reinforcement device, in the summer, and assures that it includes the necessary means to guarantee public security in the Algarve region, but also to deal with the expected fires.
«What we will have, throughout this summer, is a reinforcement that allows us to say that we are prepared for a safe Algarve. We are prepared with an additional presence of PSP and GNR resources and an increased presence of the SEF at the Airport of Faro», said Eduardo Cabrita.
With regard to Civil Protection and the defense of the forest against fire, «given the characteristics of our forest and the climate change and in programs such as “Aldeia Segura, Pessoa Segura”».
“Right now, whether in land, operational or air support mechanisms, we are prepared. When this month started a fire with significant risk in the Marmelete area, after an hour there were ten aerial means operating and the necessary land resources», framed the minister of Internal Administration.
“We will certainly have fires. What happened, particularly here in the Algarve, last year, is that absolute priority was given to safeguarding human life. Mechanisms to support the populations were tested, with great involvement of local authorities and all institutions in the region», he added.
In the field of public security, the PSP and the GNR, which work in the field, closer to the population, will both count on a considerable reinforcement in the summer.
The PSP will have the reinforcement of 36 teams from the Intervention Corps of the Special Police Unit, comprising a total of 360 men. Four Prevention and Immediate Reaction Teams will also be in the region during the summer – two in Faro, two in Portimão – and mixed policing teams, made up of PSP agents and their counterparts from the Spanish Police and the French National Police.
The GNR, on the other hand, will have around 200 soldiers in permanent reinforcement, as well as four technical teams (man and dog) and as many patrolling on horseback.
There will also be "500 soldiers deployed to the main summer events", with emphasis on the concentration of the Motoclube de Faro and for the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.
The GNR will also collaborate with foreign security forces, in this case the Spanish Guardia Civil, the Carabinieri of Italy and the Gendarmerie Nationale of France.
At Airports there was a 40% increase in the number of staff of the Aliens and Borders Service, and negotiations are still underway between the Government and ANA Aeroportos "to increase the electronic control points", in order to avoid congestion and long queues, he revealed Eduardo Cabrita.
With regard to the provisions of the National Civil Protection Emergency Authority, the four new Permanent Intervention Teams from the Alcoutim, Monchique and Portimão fire brigades should be highlighted, which increase the number of these existing professional teams in the Algarve to nine.
An Extended Attack Group, consisting of 35 soldiers and seven vehicles, will also be permanently stationed in the region.
Meanwhile, four air vehicles are already operating in the Algarve, all of them light helicopters. From the 1st of July, the heliport of Loulé will become the temporary home of a heavy attack heli.
This is the reinforcement that the region can count on this summer, although the possibility of an additional reinforcement is open, should the situation demand it.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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