Year: 2026

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RASI – Annual Internal Security Report  2025

 

Annually, it is the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the Internal Security System to process, consolidate, analyse, and disseminate integrated crime statistics and prepare the Annual Internal Security Report, which has now been published.

In 2025 there were 365,802 criminal reports, corresponding to an increase of 3.1% compared to 2024 (+10,924 reports).

The crime of theft, in its various forms, continues to be the one with the highest number of reports, followed by fraud, in its various types, and traffic crimes.

Domestic violence against a spouse or similar (-2.2%) and simple voluntary bodily injury (+0.1%) remain the criminal types with the highest number of reports.

Driving a vehicle with an alcohol content equal to or greater than 1.2g/L continues to be the third most reported crime, although it registered a significant increase of 23%.

Regarding the geographical distribution of crime, the highs in Coimbra and Leiria stand out, both with increases greater than 10%. Also noteworthy are the districts of Lisbon and Porto, which registered increases close to 4%. Regarding decreases, the Azores Autonomous Region (-8.8%) and Portalegre (-4.7%) stand out.

VIOLENT AND SERIOUS CRIME – Regarding violent and serious crime, defined as crime that has as its common denominator physical or psychological violence and that causes a strong feeling of insecurity, there were a total of 14,149 reports, which corresponds to a variation of -1.6%.

The violent and serious crimes that stood out the most were robbery on public roads, snatch theft, resistance and coercion against a public official, and sexual extortion, which together represent about 70% of the total of this type of crime.

Among the violent and serious crimes, the decreases in robberies of banks or other credit establishments (-50%), robberies at gas stations (-33.8%), robberies on public transport (-18.5%), and robberies of residences (-15.5%) stand out.

Conversely, in violent and serious crime, noteworthy increases were seen in robberies of jewellery stores (+26.3%), resistance to coercion against an official (+15.8%), other extortions (+12.7%), and sexual extortion (+6.8%). Also noteworthy is the crime of rape (+6.4%), which maintains its upward trend, showing the highest value of the decade, and completed manslaughter (+10.1%).

Regarding violent and serious crime, decreases were observed in Lisbon (-3.4%) and Porto (-8.4%). Increases were seen in the districts of Braga (+11.7%) and Leiria (+11.4%).

In the context of crimes against sexual freedom and self-determination, those that registered the highest number of investigations initiated and arrests in 2025 were crimes of child sexual abuse, rape, and child pornography. It was found, similarly to what occurred in previous years that the crime of child sexual abuse is perpetrated, for the most part, by male individuals (90.6%), who take advantage of family relationships (49.5%), especially with victims between 8 and 13 years old.

Also in the crime of rape, the preponderance of a relationship of acquaintance/family between the perpetrator and the victim (52%) was recorded, with the latter being predominantly female (90.3%), in the age range between 21 and 40 years.

Group crime, defined as the occurrence of a criminal act committed by three or more suspects, regardless of the type of crime, the specificities that may exist in the group, or the level of participation of each participant, shows a decrease of 1.2%.

 

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY-  which includes the practice, by an individual aged between 12 and 16 years, of an act qualified by law as a crime, under the terms provided for by the Educational Guardianship Law, also registered a decrease of 1.3% in the number of occurrences.

SCHOOL SAFETY – Regarding school safety, there were 8,133 incidents (+14.1%), of which 5,694 are of a criminal nature (-0.9%). Among the incidents, the most prominent were offenses against physical integrity (2,198), thefts (931), sexual offenses (182), robberies (120), and 114 incidents of use/possession of weapons.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – Domestic violence, as in previous years, shows a slight decrease (-1.9%). However, it continues to present very high participation rates (29,644), with an increase in violence against minors (+8.6%). The crime of domestic violence against a spouse or similar continues to be the one with the highest number of registered cases among the crimes involved (25,357).

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION – Regarding crimes related to illegal immigration, which encompass 6 types of crimes, notably aiding illegal immigration, marriage of convenience, violation of entry bans, association for aiding illegal immigration, recruitment of illegal labor, and other related crimes, there was an increase of 862 occurrences, equivalent to an increase of 251.3% compared to the previous year, also accompanied by an increase in the number of defendants charged.

There continues to be a prevalence of victims of human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation, especially in the areas of agriculture on seasonal properties, but also in construction, livestock farming, the textile industry, restaurants, sports activities, and domestic work. In the year 2025, the Observatory on Trafficking in Human Beings reported 307 cases (205 victims validated as such).

DRUG TRAFFICKING

Regarding drug trafficking and related crimes, there was a 10.1% increase in registered crimes, as well as a rise in the number of seizures (+7.4%) and the number of arrests (+6.1%). There was also a significant increase in seizures of hashish (+102.6%). The most consumed and trafficked drugs internally continue to be marijuana—whether in the form of hashish or leaves—, cocaine, heroin, and synthetic drugs, with trafficking and consumption being most prevalent in the districts of Lisbon and Porto.

The national territory has specific geographical characteristics that facilitate the carrying out of trafficking operations of these substances, developed by criminal organizations of a transnational nature, which introduce significant quantities of narcotic product into national territory, frequently with the collaboration of criminal groups of Portuguese origin, with the main objective of supplying the market of European countries.

CYBERCRIME – Regarding most cybercrime, there was a 13.4% increase in participated crime, when compared to the previous year. There continues to be a growth in cyberattacks, with noticeable technical evolution (with increasing use of artificial intelligence), sophistication, complexity and frequency, which mainly affect the sectors of Education and Research, Health and Public Administration.

 

The main cybercrimes investigated concern ransomware attacks, various forms of social engineering such as phishing and smishing, online scams, and account compromise (especially bank accounts).

CHILD PROOGRAPHY – Regarding the phenomenon of child pornography, there is an increase in the expression of this type of crime, related to the expansion of digital platforms and the dynamics of sharing illicit content. There is a prevalence of pornography distribution on communication channels and platforms, as well as on storage services such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google Drive, and Mega.

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT MEASURES –

In crime associated with electronic payment methods, the main types of fraud/modus operandi identified in 2025 are: carding and skimming (counterfeiting and use of counterfeit cards or other payment devices, with associated money laundering); Phishing campaigns aimed at obtaining bank card data, combined with the caller ID spoofing technique, in which the criminal poses as an employee of a banking entity and requests confirmation of alleged suspicious transactions. There is a growing trend, following technological progress, the widespread shift to a digital economy, consumer behaviour, as well as the rapid identification and exploitation by criminal groups of vulnerabilities in the payment system and electronic money services.

In the cryptocurrency market, there has been an increase in fraud associated with fake platforms, driven by the online dissemination and promotion of this type of currency and the insufficient financial and digital literacy of the victims. The number of indictments and arrests for cybercrime increased, respectively +28.5% and +88.6%.

Crimes of counterfeiting/forgery of currency and passing counterfeit currency show a decrease of 31.6% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, there was a 7.8% increase in seizures of banknotes (€ and USD), totalling €952,725 and USD20,489.

In the area of ​​economic and financial crime, there was a 22% increase in the number of investigations initiated. The crime of money laundering showed the greatest growth, with an increase of approximately 42%, followed by active corruption (+17%). In the year 2025, there was a 49.6% increase in indictments and a 154% increase in arrests.

It was also verified that 893,744 actions of collaboration with judicial and administrative authorities were carried out.

WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES – Regarding inspection actions related to weapons and explosives, 3,604 inspection actions, searches and awareness campaigns were carried out. As a result of these operations, 9,552 firearms were seized, 7,692 firearms were surrendered or recovered, 170,227 rounds of ammunition and 47,553 kg of explosives were seized, with a total of 12,241 firearms and 2,466 bladed weapons being destroyed.

CRIME PREVENTION – In the context of crime prevention and strengthening security in society, the continuation of several general prevention programs stands out, which have resulted in community policing, especially with the most vulnerable groups, notably through the Safe School program, Support 65 – Seniors in Safety, Support for People with Disabilities, Safe Commerce, Safe Countryside, Animal Defense Line and Maritime Citizenship Program. Numerous specific prevention actions were also carried out, particularly on festive occasions or at events likely to generate a greater concentration of people, notably the operations “Safe Carnival”, “Safe Easter”, “Carnival 2025”, “Easter 2025”, “Safe Pilgrimage”, “Safe Summer”, “Christmas and New Year 2025/2026” and the crime prevention and enforcement campaign “Portugal Always Safe”.

 

 

 

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Are fires at night time always Arson?

 

The idea that fires that start at night are always the result of arson frequently comes up in public debate whenever there are large fires in Portugal.

This was also the meaning of the statement made by João Tilly , a member of parliament for the Chega party, at the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee into the Rural Fires Business , last Tuesday.

“The fires that break out at night and in the early morning are all arson. All of them, 100%,” stated the Chega party deputy.

In his response, researcher Joaquim Sande Silva, a former member of the independent technical commission for the 2017 fires and of the Independent Technical Observatory, downplayed the “arson myth”.

“Beyond being a teacher, I am also a researcher, so I try to be guided by facts, things that are properly proven. It is not properly proven that all fires that break out at night are intentionally set,” said the expert, before listing scenarios in which a fire can break out at night.

Let’s look at the data.

The available official data – namely from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and entities within the fire management system – show that the generalization made by João Tilly has no factual basis .

First of all, it is important to separate two different issues: when the fires start and what causes them . The ICNF reports exhaustively analyze the causes of ignitions, but do not establish any direct relationship that would allow us to conclude that the nighttime period is predominantly associated with arson . On the contrary, the evidence points to a more complex reality.

The most recent data indicate that arson accounts for a substantial portion of fires. In the last provisional report of 2025 , for example, the ICNF (Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests) states that approximately 31% of the fires investigated were intentionally set .

In turn, burning and controlled burns account for almost a quarter (23%) of the total causes identified , a trend that is not isolated. Negligence is historically the main cause of fires: between 50% and 60% of occurrences originate from the improper use of fire (controlled burns, campfires, burning of garbage), while arson typically accounts for 25% to 40% of cases, although it has a greater impact on the area burned.

Are fires that start at night "all arson"?
PAULO NOVAIS // LUSA

Furthermore, there are other relevant causes that dismantle the idea that everything boils down to deliberate criminal acts : rekindling of poorly extinguished fires, equipment or power line failures, machinery accidents and, although residual, natural phenomena such as lightning strikes.

The report prepared last year by the Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management also underlines this diversity. In 2024, for example, only about 70% of the fires investigated had a determined cause, which means that a significant portion remains undetermined, making any simplistic conclusion about motivations impossible.

There is also an essential point that directly contradicts the statement in question: the fact that a fire starts at night does not allow us to infer its cause. Many negligent ignitions occur precisely outside the hottest hours: for example, controlled burns carried out at the end of the day that are poorly extinguished and reignite during the early morning, or agricultural work that prolongs thermal effects for hours. Reignitions are, moreover, a category of their own in official statistics and explain a portion of the occurrences.

The legislation itself imposes time restrictions on the use of machinery on days with a high risk of fire – “from 11 am until sunset”, according to Article 69 of Decree-Law No. 82/2021 – which pushes these activities into the cooler hours (night/early morning), increasing the likelihood of accidents during those time windows.

Furthermore, meteorological and physical factors also play a significant role in the evolution of fires during the night . The decrease in temperature and the increase in humidity can slow the progression, but they do not prevent latent fires from turning into active fires hours later, without any further human intervention.

In an in-depth analysis of one of the most recent major fire tragedies in Portugal, the report by the Independent Technical Commission on the October 2017 fires points to a ” very strong correlation between the number of ignitions and the exceptional weather conditions ” and specifies: “The fires of October 15 were dominated by the influence of Hurricane Ophelia . Initially, it was the wind strength and low humidity that allowed the fires to grow. However, it is the set of pyro-convective phenomena [ascending and descending movements in the atmosphere associated with fires] that subsequently develop, and not solely the wind, that is responsible for the large fire episode on the afternoon of October 15 and the night of October 16.”

In short, official data from the ICNF and other entities show that arson is only one of several causes of fire and that there are multiple additional origins (accidental, rekindled, unknown), with no evidence linking nighttime to arson .

SIC Verifica that it is…

Are fires that start at night "all arson"?

The statement that “fires that break out at night and in the early morning are all arson” lacks factual support. It is a generalization unsupported by official data, ignoring the diversity of causes and the actual ignition mechanisms of rural fires in Portugal.

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Towards an integrated rural fire management framework in Portugal

 

This OECD Environmental Police Paper was published on 7th April 2026.

Following the devastating 2017 wildfires, Portugal embarked on a series of reforms to improve its wildfire management. With the creation of the Integrated Rural Fire Management System (IRFMS), wildfire management became a policy priority across government and non-government agencies, leading to a sizeable scale-up of resources aimed at limiting wildfire damages.

The introduction of the IRFMS has improved institutional, regulatory and financing conditions for wildfire management. The IRFMS developed a unified strategy, clarified responsibilities across national, regional, and municipal levels for fire prevention and response, and created the Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management (AGIF) to coordinate all involved entities. Fire regulations were strengthened through stricter buffer zones, higher penalties, and improved fire-resistant building standards. New incentives promoted prescribed burning and strategic fuel mosaics, increasingly recognising the role of landscape- and nature-based approaches to reduce wildfire risk. Since 2018, public funding for wildfire management has doubled, with prevention now representing nearly half of total fire-related expenditure.

The IRFMS also strengthened data and information systems to better ground fire management decisions in evidence. Portugal has since developed national fire hazard and risk maps covering all the country’s fire-prone areas, which enable decision makers to identify the most exposed localities. Tools and technologies to monitor fire behaviour and adapt suppression activities were improved, and a monitoring and evaluation system for all projects funded under the IRFMS was established. These initiatives enhanced transparency and efficiency in resource allocation by improving targeting and prioritisation of measures. Through annual and quarterly progress reports and lessons learned processes, the IRFMS also promotes continuous learning and improvement across all agencies.

Nevertheless, the scale and damage of the 2024 and 2025 wildfires point to a need to accelerate reform implementation. In 2024, 35 fires burning over 500 hectares accounted for 84% of the total annual burned area, and the summer of 2025 again saw the occurrence of large fires, whose burned area surpassed that of the 2017 fires that triggered the IRFMS reform. These events revealed several shortcomings:

  • Persistent regulatory weaknesses. A high number of human-caused ignitions and persistent gaps in meeting fuel management targets indicate challenges in ensuring regulatory compliance. Some regulations are perceived as top-down and misaligned with local realities. Limited enforcement and weak sanctions further reduce compliance.
  • Frequent shifts in institutional arrangements could undermine progress. Moving AGIF’s coordinating function from the Prime Minister’s office to a sectoral ministry that developed its own Forest Intervention Plan, which is complementary but sometimes overlapping with the IRFMS’ strategy, could weaken clarity, coherence, political leadership, and the very integrated approach built in recent years.
  • Complex and multiple large fires remain difficult to contain. Increasingly severe fire weather conditions (e.g. temperature increases and prolonged dry periods) and socio-economic changes that reduce active land management practices, combined with the governance challenges mentioned above, make complex fires especially challenging to manage.
  • Fire hazard and risk maps are contested locally. This delays the adoption of municipal execution plans, which are critical for accessing funding and implementing fire regulations.
  • Public funding arrangements are fragmented and provide limited incentives for private investment in wildfire prevention. Fragmented funding sources leave actors often unaware of available resources. Ambiguity around government ex post compensation for fire losses further weakens incentives for preventive investment, while low and costly insurance coverage in high-risk areas limits financial protection and discourages proactive risk reduction.
  • Incomplete loss and damage accounting. Data collection on observed forest, infrastructure and building losses and damages is improving, but is not yet systematically compiled or used to guide funding allocation decisions.
  • Monitoring and evaluation efforts have not sufficiently improved transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. While information on the implementation of wildfire management measures is being collected, existing indicators do not sufficiently capture outcomes such as improvements in wildfire resilience. Equally, evaluation tools are not fully used to track transparency and accountability and inform continuous improvement.

 

Key recommendations to strengthen implementation of the IRFMS

Copy link to Key recommendations to strengthen implementation of the IRFMS

Build a stronger institutional framework

  • Maintain commitment to an integrated approach to wildfire management. Future institutional reforms should preserve and build on the core achievements of the IRFMS’ integrated and coordinated approach, ensuring clear responsibilities and accountability in institutional arrangements across all government and non-government actors.

    Further strengthen prevention

  • Simplify and tailor regulations to local conditions, ensuring they account for territorial differences and facilitate compliance for different target groups. Design proportional and enforceable sanctions that can effectively encourage preventative behaviour.
  • Address structural constraints to effective fuel management implementation by accelerating land registration, prioritising abandoned or highly flammable vegetation, and continuing targeted behavioural prevention to reduce human-caused ignitions.
  • Further integrate active land management and ecosystem-based approaches into fire risk reduction, including sustainable forest management and conservation of natural assets, and promoting native and broadleaf species where appropriate.

Enhance funding efficiency

  • Develop a long-term comprehensive wildfire funding strategy to increase the efficiency of wildfire management expenditures. This could shed light on all wildfire funding resources available, clarify ex ante and ex post cost-sharing mechanisms between government levels and public-private actors, revise fiscal equalisation rules to better support high-risk areas, and create incentives for sustainable land management and ecosystem services.

Further anchor wildfire management decisions in evidence

  • Improve hazard data by mapping high-value assets to further support planning and prioritisation of fire management measures.

    Continue strengthening monitoring and evaluation of the IRFMS. Existing indicators could be improved to better evaluate outcomes. Lessons learned processes could be conducted more regularly. Fostering a strong evaluation culture and linking decisions (including spending) to clear accountability mechanisms can improve performance, and operational efficiency.

Increase community engagement

  • Emphasise inclusiveness in developing local hazard maps. Including local actors in the design of these maps, thereby valuing their knowledge of fire occurrence and spread, can increase the acceptance of fire prevention measures, and compliance with fire regulations.

Full report https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/towards-an-integrated-rural-fire-management-framework-in-portugal_9cb528df-en/full-report/component-3.html#chapter-d1e111

 

 

 

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Algarve – Environment Minister considers intervention on cliffs “super urgent” after storms.

 

The Algarve has been identified as the region with the most problems, including fissures in the iconic rock formation at Peneco beach. The government strategy is divided into three areas: cliff safety, beach restoration, and medium-term structural projects, with the aim of completing urgent works before the bathing season.

The Minister of the Environment stated on Tuesday in Albufeira that stabilizing the cliffs is a “super urgent” priority for the Government to ensure coastal safety, following the worsening erosion caused by recent storms.

“The intervention on the cliffs is one of the ‘necessary and extremely urgent projects to guarantee the safety of those who visit the beaches, this being the most urgent part’,” Maria da Graça Carvalho told journalists on the sidelines of a visit to beaches in the municipality of Albufeira, in the district of Faro.

The minister visited Maria Luísa and Peneco beaches in Albufeira to assess the damage caused by the storms that affected mainland Portugal between the end of January and the first weeks of February, revealing that the damage extends from Moledo, in the municipality of Caminha, district of Viana do Castelo, to Vila Real de Santo António, in the district of Faro.

However, he added, the Algarve is the region where “there are more problems with the cliffs and the most complicated cases,” resulting from the sea storms, rain, and strong winds that have plagued the country in recent weeks.

Maria da Graça Carvalho revealed that the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) is concluding an inspection of the entire coastline, with the conclusions and necessary projects to be presented “in eight days” by the APA in Porto.

During the visit, the minister listened to the concerns of the Mayor of Albufeira, Rui Cristina, regarding the intervention “to save the rock formation on the beach that gives its name to Peneco beach, where fissures have been detected.”

According to the mayor, the rock “represents a danger and could collapse at any moment ,” and a safety perimeter has been established to prevent people from approaching.

“It’s something very symbolic, an emblematic rock that represents Albufeira. We will do everything to preserve it,” he assured, referring, however, to the APA (Portuguese Environment Agency) and the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC) “a technical or constructive solution to safeguard it in the best way.”

The minister will ask for help from LNEC.

The Minister of the Environment indicated that she will ask the LNEC (National Laboratory for Civil Engineering) for help in “supporting a decision” on what to do regarding the rock formation, reinforcing that these complex interventions aim to “guarantee the safety” of those who visit the beaches.

Maria da Graça Carvalho also mentioned that the Ministry of the Environment’s strategy is divided into three areas of intervention on the coastline, with different degrees of urgency: cliff safety, beach restoration through sand replenishment, and medium-term projects that require environmental impact studies.

 

Short-term projects include those related to preparing for the bathing season, such as stabilizing cliffs, small and medium-sized beach replenishment with sand, and repairing walkways.

“The goal is for these works to be completed before the start of the bathing season, using quick and flexible financing,” the official added.

The structural projects foresee larger-scale interventions, which require environmental impact studies, and are expected to be ready only for the bathing season next year.

“We have to do it, and it has to be done well,” the minister reiterated, noting that although the Algarve presents the most complicated problems regarding the cliffs, the APA’s monitoring “is continuous and systematic throughout the national territory.”

According to the minister, work to reinforce the sand on some of the “most emblematic beaches in the country” should begin between May and the beginning of June.

 

 

 

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Notice No. 7/DCS/2026

Date: 10-02-2026

Time: 20:00

NATIONAL EMERGENCY AND CIVIL PROTECTION AUTHORITY

NOTICE TO THE POPULATION

RISK OF FLOODS AND INUNDATIONS – PREVENTIVE AND SELF-PROTECTION MEASURES

  1. SITUATION

The intense and persistent rainfall that has been recorded in mainland Portugal in recent days has caused a significant increase in flows in the Mondego River basin.

According to information from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), a potentially dangerous hydrological situation is expected in the Mondego basin in the COMING HOURS hours, impacting the following municipalities:

− Cantanhede;

− Coimbra;

− Condeixa-a-Nova;

− Figueira da Foz;

− Miranda do Corvo;

− Montemor-o-Velho;

− Sorocaba.

Hydrological information at https://apambiente.pt

  1. EXPECTED EFFECTS

The intense and persistent rainfall recorded in recent days and its accumulated effect has caused soil saturation, fragility of riverbank structures, and increased flows in the Mondego river basin, which are expected to remain high in the coming hours, with a direct impact on historically vulnerable areas, particularly the dikes downstream from the Coimbra Weir Bridge.

  1. PREVENTIVE MEASURES

The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) reminds that the possible impact of these effects can be minimized, mainly through the adoption of appropriate behaviours, so that, and in particular in historically more vulnerable areas, the adoption of the main preventive measures for these situations is recommended, namely:

  • Ensure the unobstructed flow of rainwater drainage systems and the removal of inert materials and other objects that may be swept away or create obstacles to the free flow of water;
  • Avoid any type of activity near watercourses, especially in areas with a history of flooding;

 

  • Avoid parking vehicles in historically flood-prone areas;
  • Do not cross flooded areas to prevent people or vehicles from being swept into holes in the pavement or open drains;
  • Remove animals, equipment, vehicles and/or other belongings from normally flooded areas to safe locations;
  • Restrict as much as possible the movement of vehicles and dismounted people in areas potentially affected by floods;
  • Ensure adequate securing of loose structures that may be swept away by the water (scaffolding, billboards, suspended structures);
  • Take special care when circulating and remaining near wooded areas close to watercourses, due to the risk of falling branches and/or trees being swept away by the water;
  • Pay attention to information from IPMA, the Portuguese Environment Agency and the indications of Civil Protection and Security Forces.

 

ANEPC | Communication and Awareness Division