GNR and PSP together in mega-operation. Where are you going to be and what can you ask for? – Observer

It is a joint mega-operation, between PSP and GNR, which will happen from this Friday until the middle of next week. At that time another one will start, already focused on the Easter period, when some more restrictive measures of this renewed state of emergency will take effect. There will be inspections on the major road axes, to control exits and entrances, but also on road and rail transport, in the areas of large urban centers with greater crowds of people. If you’re at work, don’t forget the proof. Security forces promise a heavier hand to anyone who breaks rules that They are in force as of this Wednesday.

On the ground, on the part of the GNR, there will be “all the territorial staff”, reinforced by the soldiers of the special units of the guard, according to the director of operations Vítor Rodrigues. On his left side, at the press conference at the Ministry of Internal Affairs this Friday, was Luís Elias, PSP’s director of operations, who said that “about 16 thousand police officers will be on the street for this reinforced inspection”, including elements of the criminal investigation, mainly focused on cases of domestic violence – one of the major isolation concerns in which the country lives.

Actions within cities:

• Policing where there is a tendency for larger crowds of people and also areas overflown by drones with sound to control and warn gatherings – which the rules now define that are now limited to the maximum number of five people;
• GNR also admits the use of drones to detect road flows;
• Places of public enjoyment (public spaces, historic and tourist areas) will also be supervised by police and overflyed by drones;

Outside cities:

• The security forces will tighten the inspection on the main roads, especially those that connect the center and the major cities in the interior and also to the Algarve;
• The inspection will also be done in complementary itineraries;
• There will be operations not only to control exits from the municipality but also at the entrances, “to see if on Sunday or Monday there is the return of some people to warn them” for changes in the law for the Easter period, said Luís Elias from PSP.
• In Lisbon, for example, at the entrances and exits of the 25 de Abril Bridge.

On public transport (mainly connecting municipalities)

• At the bus terminals there will be security forces asking for justification for the trips – remember that people will only be able to leave the municipality where they live to go to work, during the Easter period.
• The same at the railway terminals, because there are many trains crossing counties. The measures also pressed the need for a document from the employer to prove the exercise of professional activity.

Sanctions

• Both security forces admitted that they may have a heavier hand. The actions are mainly aimed at “sensitizing” the population, but Luís Elias, from the PSP, admits that he may have “a more coercive perspective if necessary”. Vítor Rodrigues, from GNR, spoke in the same sense: “If we need to be more rigorous, we will be more rigorous”.
• If you resist or disobey the established rules, you will be sanctioned under the terms of the criminal law and the respective penalties have been increased by one third, in their minimum and maximum limits. In less severe cases, the penalty of imprisonment can be from 1 year and 4 months in prison or up to 160 days of fine. In cases of qualified disobedience, the penalty of imprisonment ranges from 2 years and 8 months to 320 days of fine.
• Vítor Rodrigues said, however, that in the operations carried out so far “the overwhelming majority” of people followed the instructions given by the authorities.
• Since March 22, 96 people have been detained for the crime of disobedience, namely for breach of the obligation of mandatory confinement and other situations of disobedience or resistance. And 96 people were detained for the crime of disobedience, namely for breach of the obligation of mandatory confinement and other situations of disobedience or resistance. And 1,701 establishments were closed for non-compliance with the established rules.

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