Latest news and stories about public safety in Porto, Portugal for expats and residents.
Emergency services have successfully contained a significant wildfire in Valongo that threatened the Serras do Porto Park, involving over 160 personnel and aerial support.
The Judicial Police and Public Prosecutor's Office have dismantled a corruption network involving 81 contracts at Águas de Gaia, with 13 suspects detained for allegedly accepting bribes in the form of luxury trips, gifts, and home renovations.
Participation in domestic violence rehabilitation programmes has risen by 8.9% in early 2025, prompting the Ministry of Justice to launch a recidivism study and establish a specialised training academy for prison staff.
Three elderly women, aged 80, 91, and 92, were reportedly mistreated in an illegal care home in Maia. The owner of the facility is currently facing trial for the alleged abuse, raising concerns about the safety and treatment of vulnerable patients in such establishments.
In the past three years, ten patients have tragically died while awaiting heart surgery at Santo António Hospital in Porto, raising serious concerns about the efficiency and safety of the public healthcare system.
The Porto region is set to invest €820,000 in the refurbishment of two health centres. The Vale Formoso Health Unit will receive €526,000 for a four-month renovation, while the Foz Health Centre will be upgraded with an investment of €297,000, expected to take 100 days to complete.
Two people were reportedly stabbed near Trindade metro station in Porto; suspects fled the scene. One man sustained minor injuries and was taken to Santo António Hospital. The incident raises concerns about safety at a major transport hub and is likely to prompt a police investigation and reviews of security and emergency response measures to reassure the public and protect commuters.
A man wanted by German authorities for assaulting and raping a woman on three occasions in 2023 has been detained by Portugal’s Judicial Police in Porto. He will be presented to the Porto Court of Appeal as Portuguese authorities consider the German request and possible extradition; under the charges he could face up to 15 years’ imprisonment. The arrest underscores cross‑border cooperation in serious sexual‑violence cases and the next legal steps will determine whether he is surrendered to Germany or prosecuted in Portugal.
Coercive measures were announced this Tuesday at the Penafiel Court.
An investigation identified more than 170 elderly victims of mistreatment, four of whom ended up dying. The case involves physical abuse, lack of hygiene, and food deprivation, which led to the arrest of seven people.
The Santa Cruz do Bispo Prison has only one psychiatrist for 400 inmates. The Independent Doctors' Union highlights that this collapse has been systematically ignored.
The National Republican Guard (GNR) shut down nine unlicensed elderly care facilities in the municipality of Lousada.
11 elderly people aged between 78 and 95 were living in poor conditions in unlicensed residences. The suspects, under investigation since 2016, will be interrogated this Wednesday.
The elderly were transferred to accommodation facilities identified by Social Security.
Operation is underway following a 2024 investigation.
The GNR shut down nine residences operating illegally as nursing homes in Lousada, Porto district, on Tuesday, June 16, and arrested seven people, the police force reported. Following an investigation into the mistreatment of the elderly, officers found that the residences, which lacked any licensing to house elderly people, were accommodating 11 individuals—nine women and two men aged between 78 and 95, the GNR stated. The properties failed to meet health and hygiene standards and lacked an adequate number of caregivers to ensure the well-being and safety of the residents. During the operation, the elderly individuals were relocated to facilities identified by Social Security. The detainees, six women and one man aged between 25 and 65, will appear for their first judicial interrogation at the Criminal Investigation Court (TIC) of Penafiel on Wednesday at 14:00. The operation involved several GNR territorial posts and criminal investigation units, with support from Porto Social Security, the Penafiel TIC, the Porto Este District Court, and the Tâmega e Sousa Health Delegation.
The defendants are accused of four counts of qualified homicide and operated as a “family organisation”, the investigation indicates.
The elderly were kept in apartments and a house operating as illegal care homes where residents were suffering from hunger.
The GNR is conducting searches in the centre of Lousada at elderly care homes.
The Porto Judicial Police were called and are investigating the whereabouts of the man and the woman.
Three years ago, another electrical discharge damaged several of the association's appliances, amounting to 14,000 euros.
Portugal’s National Republican Guard (GNR) has carried out a major operation in Lousada today, executing search warrants and detention orders as part of an investigation into alleged abuse, fraud, even The post GNR raids illegal care homes in Lousada amid homicide, abuse investigation appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Operation is underway following a 2024 investigation.
Three years ago, another electrical discharge damaged several of the association's appliances, amounting to 14,000 euros.
The Porto Judicial Police were called and are investigating the whereabouts of the man and the woman.
The fire has multiple points of origin, which has hindered firefighting operations.
At least four people lost their lives on Friday after going for a swim.
The fire is believed to have originated in the residence's kitchen. The victim is a man around 50 years old.
The Minister of Internal Administration says that firefighter associations can rest assured regarding expenses during the wildfire season. The government is prepared to look into other financing solutions.
A 54-year-old man died on Friday night after going for a swim at Cabo do Mundo beach in Matosinhos, in the Porto district, a source from the National Maritime Authority (AMN) told Lusa.
