PSP – Weapons related crime and assaults in schools highest in 5 years
The number of assault and weapons-related crimes committed in schools during the last academic year was the highest in the last five years, with sexual assault and drug trafficking also increasing, the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) revealed today.
The report from the Safe School Program (PES) of the PSP for the 2025/26 school year, released today and to which Lusa had access, reveals that the majority of crimes registered within the scope of the PES are related to bodily harm, totalling 1,426, and insults and threats (920), with these occurrences having increased by 10.5% and 3.1%, respectively, compared to the previous school year.
“Of the eight types of crimes monitored, bodily harm and insults and threats have been the predominant crimes in the last five school years, also showing a trend of increasing numbers of crimes from the 2021/2022 school year (after the pandemic),” reads the document, which highlights that the 2025/26 school year recorded the highest number of bodily harm crimes in the last five years.
The crime of possession and use of weapons also reached its highest level in the last five academic years.
According to the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police), in the last school year, 60 weapons were detected in schools (3 firearms, 50 bladed weapons and 7 weapons of other types), which translates to an increase of 11.1% compared to the 2024/25 school year.
Last school year, the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) detected one more firearm and seven more bladed weapons than the previous year.
In the assessment document of the Safe School Program, this police force highlights that “there is a growing trend in the number of sexual offense crimes since the 2023/24 school year,” having recorded 103 crimes in the last school year, which corresponds to an increase of 18.4% compared to the previous school year.
Drug trafficking also increased in schools during the last school year, with the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) detecting 22 crimes, a 69% increase compared to the 2024/25 school year.
Conversely, the Public Security Police recorded the lowest number of robbery crimes (67) in the last five school years, with a decreasing trend in the prevalence of this type of crime since the 2022/2023 school year.
The PSP also recorded the lowest number of theft crimes (324) since the 2023/2024 school year.
Most crimes occur inside school premises, with bodily harm, insults and threats, and theft being the most prevalent, while robbery and drug trafficking occur more frequently outside schools, according to the document.
Incidents related to bullying and cyberbullying also increased. In the 2025/26 school year, 155 situations related to bullying were recorded (+25 compared to the previous school year) and 25 related to cyberbullying (+1 compared to the previous school year).
Incidents related to behaviors associated with bullying and cyberbullying had been showing a downward trend since the 2022/2023 school year, a trend that ceased in the last school year.
The PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) recorded 4,075 incidents in the last school year, representing a 4.6% increase compared to the previous school year, of which 2,898 were criminal in nature and 1,177 were non-criminal.
Most situations not classified as crimes correspond to disruptions of school activities (508) and situations of possession/consumption of drugs (49), the report adds, representing an increase of 17.9% and 28.9% respectively compared to the 2024/25 school year.