“Friendship has to be there or there will be no future for mankind” – Arthur Troop. The IPA was founded in 1950 by police sergeant Arthur Troop in the United Kingdom and has since evolved into the largest police association in the world.
The International Police Association is a friendship organisation for members of the police force, whether in employment or retired, and without distinction as to rank, position, gender, race, language or religion. It has around 360,000 members in nearly 100 countries, of which 65 are affiliated National Sections, and is represented on 5 continents.
Its motto is ‘Servo per Amikeco’ – Service Through Friendship’
The IPA is a non-governmental organisation, and its aims are to create and strengthen bonds of friendship between members of the police service, promote international cooperation in social, cultural and professional fields, encourage peaceful co-existence between peoples and preservation of world peace, improve the public image of the police service and enhance recognition of the IPA by international bodies.
In Portugal, the statutes of the National Section of the International Association known under the name, in English, the International Police Association (IPA), were approved by the Constituent Assembly, on October 24, 1979, and registered by public deed on March 18 1980.
It became an IPA Affiliate on 3rd September 1981 at 18th IEC in Washington DC. It currently has 11 delegations throughout the country including Madeira and the Azores. In addition there are four IPA Houses in Porto, Lisbon. Coimbra and Loule (shown in the photo). Details of the house can be found at the IPA link here.
As at January 2019 the IPA Portugal has 4152 members
The IPA Portugal South Delegation was inaugurated on 19th November 2011 in the city of Loulé, Algarve. The Southern Delegation covers the districts of Faro, Beja and Évora.
This IPA House / Headquarters of the Southern Delegation is located at Largo Professor Cabrita da Silva, next to the Igreja Matriz de Loulé, in a building provided by the Municipality of Loulé, with deed of constitution, the Portuguese Section of IPA being responsible for remodelling and refurbishment of the building. Photos of the building can be seen on the IPA page here
Statement by Fernando M.D.R. Palma – President of the South IPA Delegation Directorate
“The newly elected new members for the respective Organs Regional Offices of the South IPA Delegation, which took office on 18 January 2019, are committed to contributing to their dynamism, experience and determination for a new direction of this South IPA Delegation, always in favour of friendship and camaraderie.”
Phone - (+351) 962 029 629
Email - delegacao@ipa-portugal.pt
Address - Largo Professor Cabrita da Silva, nº 8 8100-000
Loulé - Portugal
Phone - (44) 7459 863 196
Email - iac@ieb-ipa.org
Address: Arthur Troop House, 1 Fox Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 6AJ United Kingdom
Phone - (351) 217157206
Email - geral@ipa-portugal.pt
Address: Rua Professor José Sebastião e Silva no.1 1500+500
Lisboa
The five main police organizations in Portugal are the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR), Public Security Police (PSP), the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF), Judicial Police and ASAE. The first three of these come under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Judicial Police under the Ministry of Justice.
Each of these organizations has its headquarters in Lisbon and is divided into various geographical structures. The responsibilities of police are diverse ranging from internal security, ensuring public order, border control, crime prevention, traffic control and enforcement, the investigation of crime and day to day policing throughout the country.
Safe Communities Portugal works very closely with all these organizations primarily in the area of crime prevention and engagement, encouraging the reporting of crime and suspicious activities and enhancing public awareness through education.
The GNR created in 1911, is a paramilitary security force organised into a Special Corps of Troops. In peacetime, it is dependent upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for the purposes of recruitment, administration and performance of duties arising from its general mission, and on the National Ministry of Defence, for the purposes of standardisation and regulation of the military doctrine, arms and equipment. The GNR’s missions are: to guarantee, within the scope of its responsibility, the maintenance of public order, within its area of jurisdiction exercised mainly through the policing of all areas in the country except for the larger cities which come under the jurisdiction of the PSP.
The PSP was formed in 1867. Its overall responsibilities are ensuring democratic legality, safeguarding internal security and the rights of its citizens in accordance with the constitution and laws of Portugal. The PSP is commanded by a National Director responsible to the Minister of Internal Affairs. Its duties, defined in law, are diverse and include protection of key points, diplomatic protection, security of major events, traffic policing, private security and firearms licensing, crime prevention, investigation of crime, airport security and protection of persons and property within its areas of remit. It is responsible for the policing of all the airports as well as the larger cities.
The Judicial Police was created on 20 October 1945, and is dedicated to the prevention and investigation of serious crime throughout the country. It is integrated into the justice system and has been designed and shaped over decades to serve justice. Managed by judicial magistrates and prosecutors and officials with legal training, the Judicial Police deals with increasingly complex criminality in areas such as: drug trafficking, cybercrime, terrorism, money laundering corruption and crimes involving firearms. It has a number of specialist crime support and investigative units including those responsible for forensic examinations and international cooperation with INTERPOL and EUROPOL.
SEF is a security service within the Ministry of Internal Affairs that is responsible for carrying out checks on persons at the borders, monitoring aliens inside national territory, preventing and fighting organized crime involving illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings, decide upon asylum applications, issuing passports and identification documents to foreign nationals, in order to safeguard internal security and individual rights and freedoms within the global context of the migratory phenomenon. SEF is also responsible for promoting, coordinating and implementing the measures and actions related to these activities and to migratory movements.
The Economic and Food Safety Authority (ASAE) is the national specialised administrative authority for food safety and economic surveillance.
ASAE is responsible for the exercise of economic activities in the food and non-food sectors, by monitoring, preventing and enforcement of regulations and legislation. ASAE is a criminal police body.
ASAE has a very wide scope, responsible for the enforcement of over 1000 food, non-food and services laws. It is also the competent authority for the surveillance of sale of products and services, in order to ensure safety and consumer health, as well as developing preventive and enforcement actions relating to illegal gambling.
The Maritime Police, as the specialty police within the scope of the AMN, and within the framework of matters of the Maritime Authority System (SAM), is a police and criminal police body that guarantees, and inspects, compliance with the laws and regulations in the spaces members of the Public Maritime Domain (DPM), in port areas and in bathing spaces, as well as in all inland waters under the jurisdiction of AMN and other maritime spaces under national sovereignty and jurisdiction, and must preserve the regularity of maritime activities.
It is also responsible, under the law, and in collaboration with the other police and security forces, to guarantee the security and rights of citizens.