“Yesterday [Monday] the Secretary of State for Internal Administration signed the order that will publish the authorisation for the placement of video surveillance cameras in the city of Porto”, Margarida Blasco told journalists.
The minister also indicated that “as soon as the order is published” in the Official Gazette, the mayor of Porto can install the cameras.
Last week, the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, stated that the order from the Ministry of Internal Administration is the “only thing missing” for video surveillance to advance and that, if this does not happen, he will refuse to include the funds in the budget of the municipality.
"Therefore, if we don't have a response from the minister, I won't sign up, then it will be MAI or PSP that makes the investment", said Rui Moreira, remembering that the matter has been dragging on for more than a year.
At issue is the authorisation for the installation of a further 117 video surveillance cameras in the western and eastern areas of Porto, namely on streets in the areas of Asprela, Campanhã, Estádio do Dragão, Pasteleira and Diogo Botelho.
On July 24, 2023, Porto City Council launched the public tender for the acquisition and maintenance of the video monitoring system, under a collaboration protocol established between the municipality and the PSP.
The video surveillance system, which went into operation on June 22, 2023, and has 79 cameras in the city centre, has already made it possible to preserve images relating to 910 criminal actions, most of them (592) that occurred this year.