“This is an important day for Castelo Branco. Installing a video surveillance system is an added value. Video surveillance does not replace PSP agents, but it is an additional mechanism to combat crime”, said the commander of the PSP of Castelo Branco, Rafael Marques.

The signing of the protocol took place in the Noble Hall of the Town Hall, after a meeting of the Municipal Security Council of Castelo Branco, which had been inactive since 2015.

Despite the decrease in crime in Castelo Branco, superintendent Rafael Marques explained that this is a system that contributes to “increasing prevention, identifying crime suspects after they have occurred and also increasing citizens' sense of security”.

“It is an important tool that the PSP has and is an added value. The process will be long and will never be ready in less than a year. But let's take a leap here in terms of security. We have to be ambitious,” he concluded.

The mayor of Castelo Branco highlighted that the municipality will finance the implementation of video surveillance in the city and the PSP will be responsible for operating and providing training and accreditation of agents to operate the system.

“This is a process that is at a very early stage and whose implementation could cost up to 100 thousand euros. The system, under no circumstances, violates the privacy of citizens. It will be a system operated by accredited agents and the images captured are collected by cameras in a safe environment”, stated Leopoldo Rodrigues.