The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 15th May 2024
by Mike Evans
A very good day to you all. With the holiday season starting to get into full swing and the roads getting busier, My theme this week is the latest statistics regarding road accidents in the region throughout 2023.
In the Algarve, in 2023, there was a 13.5% decrease in the number of fatalities resulting from road accidents compared to the previous year, but there was an increase in Accidents with Casualties, Serious Injuries, and Minor Injuries. This is according to the most recent Annual Accident Report, inspection and road traffic offences. It will come as no surprise to many long term residents the road that recorded the highest number of fatalities was the EN125.
Many of you will not be surprised because we all know that accidents there are frequent and that much of it is due to the fact that that road does not have the necessary safety conditions, even with the works that have already been carried out.
Whilst the number of deaths decreased during the year, Even so, there was an increase in the other three indicators used to assess accident rates in the Algarve region, namely Accidents with Victims (5.6%), Serious Injuries (10.9%) and Minor Injuries (4.9%).
Even with five fewer fatalities in 2023 – decreasing from 37 to 32 -, the Algarve recorded a 6.6% increase in the so-called most serious accidents, which adds road deaths to the number of serious injuries. The road that recorded the highest number of fatalities was the EN125, a total of seven (nine, counting variants of this road). On the A22 there was one death and on the IC1 two fatalities.
As we see more traffic on our roads we should all remember to regulate our speed and be vigilant at all times.
Now a look at some of the other stories that happened across our region in the past week.
PJ arrests suspect of rape crimes in Loulé
The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a 53-year-old man, last Saturday, May 11th, due to strong evidence of rape crimes, which occurred in the municipality of Loulé , in 2023 and 2024.
The sexual assaults allegedly occurred with two victims, aged 17 and 29, in an environment controlled by the detainee, who had had a relationship with the mother of one of them.
The suspect took advantage of the victims having “some limitations in their cognitive development”, thus seeking to “obtain silence regarding the acts committed”.“The series of steps carried out by the Southern Directorate of the PJ allowed the collection of relevant evidence, culminating in the arrest of the suspect,” the police force said in a statement.
The suspect was remanded in pre-trial detention after his first judicial interrogation.
GNR arrests suspect of ‘carjacking’ committed in March in Castro Marim
A man suspected of ‘carjacking’ a driver, committed in March in the municipality of Castro Marim, was arrested on Wednesday in Tavira, and will be held in preventive detention, revealed the GNR.
In a statement, the GNR indicates that the facts date back to March 1, when the 37-year-old suspect carried out a “robbery with a knife” in the municipality of Castro Marim.
The driver approached by the suspect was “violently attacked and his goods were stolen, as well as the vehicle”, reports the GNR, which opened an investigation to determine the identity of the person responsible for the carjacking and obtain evidence of the crime. “Following the action, the military discovered that the individual was already referenced as a suspect in other violent crimes against people and property, which caused social alarm in the municipalities of Castro Marim, Tavira, Olhão and Faro ”, highlights the GNR in the note.
Based on the evidence collected by investigators, an arrest warrant was issued for the detainee.
After being present for the first judicial interrogation at the Court of Faro, the suspect was subject to the most serious measure of coercion, preventive detention, the GNR also states.
Suspect accused of sharing child pornography subjected to compulsory psychiatric treatment
The court ordered this Wednesday that the man detained in Portimão on suspicion of sharing child pornography computer content be subjected to compulsory psychiatric treatment, having also ordered bi-weekly presentations to the authorities, a police source revealed.
The same source also added that the man, of Portuguese nationality, aged 27, was also prohibited from approaching computer equipment, after being interviewed in the first judicial interrogation for the application of coercive measures.
The source thus corrected the information initially provided by another police source, according to which the arrest had been carried out under an international arrest warrant, and that the suspect would remain detained until his extradition. The man was arrested by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Tuesday following a complaint originating from international judicial cooperation mechanisms, via the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (in Portuguese, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).
After the complaint, it was found that the suspect “repeatedly accessed, held and shared child pornography content on computer media”, says a statement from the PJ.
Man was arrested for robbery in Faro
The Faro Criminal Investigation Squadron arrested, on May 6th, in Faro , a 30-year-old man for committing robbery and other crimes against property, the Faro PSP District Command reported today. .
The day before yesterday afternoon, the victim went to the PSP stating that he had been the victim of a robbery, a few moments before, and described the suspect. With this information in hand, the police department was immediately mobilised, with the suspect being identified and located a few moments later. When he was located, the suspect tried to escape from the police who, after a foot chase, detained him.
Following subsequent investigations, it was possible to verify that the suspect had, in his possession, the objects belonging to the victim, as well as more assets suspected to result from other crimes against property, which were seized and returned to the legitimate owners. The detainee was presented to the Judiciary Authority today, and was required to present himself periodically at a police station.
More operational in fighting fires and fewer aerial resources for this year
The number of operators involved in fighting rural fires will increase slightly this year, with 14,155 elements expected for the months considered most critical, but the device will have two fewer aerial assets, according to a directive approved on Monday, May 13th.
The national operational directive (DON), which establishes the Special Device for Combating Rural Fires (DECIR), was approved on Monday, the 13th, at the National Civil Protection Commission, whose meeting was chaired by the Secretary of State for Civil Protection , Paulo Simões Ribeiro, and took place at the headquarters of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority ( ANEPC ), in Carnaxide.
The ground device will have 14,155 elements and 3,173 vehicles during the period of greatest resource commitment, between July 1st and September 30th, called ‘Delta level’ In 2023, the number of operators involved in fighting fires between July and September was 13,891, which means that this year there are 264 more elements to fight fires.
The same happens with the available vehicles, which increase by 183, going from 2,990 vehicles to 3,173.
The season considered most critical for rural fires will this year feature 70 aerial assets, two fewer than in 2023.
The air resources that will not be available at DECIR this year are two ‘Canadair’ planes.
A fire department source said that there are no ‘Canadair’ planes on the market, hence the difficulties in renting them.
According to ANEPC, the DON is the document that, annually, defines the means and establishes the architecture of the structure of direction, command and control of the Integrated System of Protection and Relief Operations, in addition to establishing the way in which institutional coordination is ensured, the regulation, articulation and optimization of the forces and organisms that make up the system.
DECIR 2024 will be presented in a public session scheduled for this Tuesday in Ourém, in the district of Santarém, in a ceremony presided over by the Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco.
The approval and presentation of DECIR take place this year almost simultaneously with the first reinforcement of firefighting resources, which will take place on Wednesday.
In a note released on social media, Civil Protection states that today’s meeting also approved the Integrated Rural Fire Detection and Surveillance Directive (DIVDIR) for this year, which establishes coordination mechanisms between the entities of the Integrated Fire Management System. Fogos Rurais and other institutions involved in rural fire surveillance and detection operations, in order to guarantee the optimization of the operational use of mobile surveillance systems, forest video surveillance, aerial surveillance and the National Network of Watch Posts.
The National Civil Protection Commission also approved the operating regulations for the National, Regional and Sub-regional Operational Coordination Centers, under the terms of the Integrated Protection and Relief Operations System.
Until the next time have a safe week.