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Portugal The Police System
Although the main duties of the police had always been
the
prevention, detection, and investigation of crime and the
maintenance of public order, their involvement under
successive
governments in suppressing political and labor
organizations left
a reservoir of fear and mistrust among the Portuguese
people. The
authority of the police, which was identified with the old
regime, was seriously compromised by the Revolution of
1974.
During the months after the revolution, there was a sharp
rise in
crime and disorder owing to the virtual disappearance of
social
and moral constraints imposed by tradition and reinforced
by the
authoritarian regime. Until the civilian police forces,
disarmed
after the revolution, could be reorganized and retrained
to
operate in Portugal's new political environment, armed
forces
security units assumed responsibility for internal
security. By
1976, control of the police apparatus was returned to
civilian
authorities in the Ministry of Internal Administration.
Article 272 of the Constitution of 1976, as revised in
1982,
emphasized the responsibility of the police to defend the
democratic process and to ensure that they acted within
the law
and did not exceed their authority. In carrying out their
mission
of preventing crimes, including crimes against the
security of
the state, the police were enjoined to observe the rights,
freedoms, and safeguards of citizens. The constitution
stipulated
that each of the forces of security were to have a single
organization for the entire national territory.
Data as of January 1993
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