“The Municipality will install video surveillance cameras on the city’s main arteries, where fights and attacks occur daily, as a means of combating violence between members of the communities that live in the city”, a revelation made yesterday by the mayor of Beja, during the fortnightly meeting of the Executive.
Paulo Arsénio added that at the beginning of last June “there was an informal conversation with the district commander of the PSP and a joint working group will be created to coordinate the process and define the arteries where it is necessary to install the resources”, justified.
The mayor's statements were made following questions posed by elected officials from the Opposition, namely from the CDU, after last Friday the councilor of the Coalition Beja Consegue (PP-PSD/CDS-PP), Nuno Palma Ferro, issued a statement demanding “more integration, more surveillance, more security”, once again expressing “concern about the manifestations of violence, contempt and insecurity that have occurred in the city of Beja”, summarized.
There are three marked locations, the main ones are Praça da República, Largo do Tribunal and Historic Center and pedestrian zone, in the so-called Portas de Mértola, where there are daily scenes of violence between members of various foreign communities who live in the city.
These citizens headed to Beja to work in agriculture, but the overwhelming majority are unemployed and heavily dependent on alcohol, in addition to living in overcrowded housing and in sub-human conditions.
The mayor of Beja stated that the escalation of violence between people from different communities is also associated “with the increase in drug consumption and trafficking and the fights between groups aim to control certain spaces in the city”, justifying that on the part of the population that witnesses those altercations “there is a lack of complaints and participation with the Police”, concluded.
Assuming the limitation that the local authority has in supervising house rentals, Rui Marreiros, vice president of the city council, said: “Owners are not responsible for the spaces, because there are big deals with wild rentals”, finished.
Two of the most visible cases of wild rentals are found in Praça da República, where an old residence with thirty rooms is full and with open doors, and is located at 100 meters from the municipality and the 10 meters from the PSD district headquarters, government party. The other case is in Portas de Mértola, adjacent to the century-old Pastelaria Luís da Rocha, where a three-story building is overcrowded.
António Leandro, the pastry manager, tells the drama they live daily: “people already avoid coming to the terrace after certain hours because of insecurity. We have had to close the space a few times and collect tables and chairs.. We are among the most affected by insecurity. When there are more serious cases we call the PSP, who does what he can to maintain safety.”, resume.
Source from PSP Beja told Lidador Notícias (LN) that “there is a lot of footage on Facebook, but complaints or participation rarely occur, It seems that there is an interest in inflaming”, justifying that there are social problems among communities “resulting from unemployment and alcohol consumption. Despite the feeling of insecurity, the local community does not want trouble, Want a policeman at the door?”, concluded.
For Bejense citizens, it was a habit to stop the car without locking the doors., an old use has led to an increase in thefts inside vehicles, We last months.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
