Opinion (Rogério COPETO / Official GNR): SAFE CHURCH.
An article titled "assault wave in churches and parish houses of the Diocese of Beja", published in the 19 August Public, He realized the occurrence of several robberies Beja District churches, from which they were stolen several pieces of artistic and patrimonial, taking the matter has been dealt with in the JN editing 13 August, the article by Teixeira Correia journalist called "New alert the diocese for robberies rectories".
Rogério COPETO
Lieutenant Colonel of the GNR
Master in Law and Security and Homeland Security Auditor
Head of the Education Division / Command Doctrine and Training
The theft in the interior of churches there, since there are churches, because they are sites that contain inside objects of great value and can be easily sold, taking into account the great demand for these same objects.
The Penal Code provides that those who steal another's chattel, that has important scientific value, artistic and historical and is in collection or public or accessible to the public exposure, commits robbery crime and is punished with imprisonment of two to eight years, It is responsible for his investigation of the Judicial Police (PJ).
Taking into account the existence of the phenomenon of theft in the interior of churches and the power to your research be of PJ, It was created by this Security Service Project "Safe Church"In June 2003, aiming, fundamentally, improve the conservation and security of churches.
So, this article aims to present the project "Safe Church" that although there since 2003, we found that did not reach all the churches, nor is it known to all parish priests, that can benefit from the knowledge of the institutions that are partners of the project, such as the Commission of Cultural Heritage of the Church, the Portuguese Institute for Conservation and Restoration, the Directorate General of National Buildings and Monuments, the National Association of Municipalities, the Order of Engineers, the Portuguese Institute of Museums, the Catholic University of Portugal, the Police of Public Security and the National Republican Guard.
The project "Safe Church" has a page where you can remove some information, getting up soon to know the existence of the "Basic Safety Manual", which is given to all those who join the project and where it is referred to the importance of the existence of a "Internal Emergency Plan" (PEI), systematizing a set of standards and rules of procedures to minimize the effects of any type of accident, that may occur inside the church.
O PEI é um documento que identifica os riscos e os meios humanos e materiais existentes na igreja, establishing procedures to deal with any accident, through the organization and use of resources and support for education and training of occupants, as well as information to the security forces and rescue, besides being a guide in real emergency situation, giving the church an effective level of security, limiting and minimizing the consequences of an accident.
Other information that can be drawn from the project page is related to the safety of the church, particularly in the "Information and Advice", composed of submenus: "Safety from CRIME"; "Safety against FIRE and other ACCIDENTS” e; "Conservation and Restoration".
In the submenu "Security against Crime", You can find information on the main "problems"The churches have, namely what their vulnerabilities are, because it is not only the artistic heritage that is theft target, but also the alms boxes and sound and computer equipment.
It is one of the main vulnerabilities, that the robberies occurred during the day, by insufficient surveillance and the parts are easily accessible, also it is the thefts that occur at night, happen because the access to the interior of the churches, like doors and windows not having any security system, in addition to the lock and not infrequently they are open during the night for oblivion.
But in addition to indicate that the main problems, They are facing the churches, are also presented various "options" can be taken, through "basic considerations"And"practical advice", where those responsible for the churches get to know how to deal with the issue of security of their churches, four of, the key measures that should be taken into account: the existence of an "Inventory"; the "Key Control"; the "Vigilance"; and "access control to assets".
With regard to the "Inventory" is the first step to take in implementing a security plan and consists of a relationship stating the identification of all the chattels, which joins a photograph of each object, for easy and quick identification, in case of recovery of stolen goods.
For these reasons it seems that the project "Safe Church" meets all the conditions of a special program of crime prevention, which aims to prevent the crime of theft in the interior of churches, so it makes sense to those responsible for these spaces in joining this project.
But contrary to what one would expect most responsible for the churches do not know the project "Safe Church", and in this case the fault will be the project coordinator, since it is not adequately disclosed, It is not given the importance it deserves, whose lack of attention is evidenced by not updating the project page from 2012.
Another cause of lack of adherence to the project will be in a lot of bureaucracy, notably associated with the accession criteria to the project "Safe Church", It is required the existence of minimum standards to integrate, the church must prove that implemented, is implementing and / or has guaranteed going to implement within a year, a set of measures that may be appropriate.
Again we repeat that the project "Safe Church" will like other projects and crime prevention programs have the potential to contribute to the reduction of crime committed against churches, like us however they have failed to achieve their goals, due to lack of disclosure, It will much associated bureaucracy and to the lack of articulation with two of its partners, A PSP e a GNR, that due to its implementation, They will have responsibility all existing churches and due to proximity to those responsible, would be in the best interests PJ harness this potential, that during all these years neglected.
