Opinion (Rogério COPETO / Official GNR): A INCENDIARY COUNTRY.
The title of this article may be exaggerated, because you should never generalize, but that's what makes you want to say, before a country that burns since June and is expected to continue to burn, probably long after the stage finish charlie 15 of September, foreseeing so, that the critical period is extended, as was also anticipated.
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
In these last days many are the stories that reflect the increase in the number of arrests by the practice of forest fire crime carried out by the GNR and PJ, is as example the part TVI24 9 August with the title "PJ and GNR already arrested 77 arsonists", which is said to have been arrested so far 77 arsonists in Portugal, corresponding to three times the detentions last year.
But detainees numbers continue to grow, and last week the PJ had held 54 individuals, on Monday that number increased to 60, as Public News 14 August with the title "rises to 60 the number of detainees on suspicion of forest fire", stating that "this year alone have been arrested 60 people on suspicion of the crime of forest fire in Portugal".
With regard to the area burned, we learned through the RR part 10 August with the title "Almost 140 hectares have burned. It is more than a third of the total in the EU", that even 5 of August "Portugal is the EU country with more area burned this year: 139.586 hectares"And already burned an area six times higher than the average recorded in the previous eight years, so taking into account that on Saturday were recorded 268 ignitions, the highest number in a single day this year, according to the article entitled "Fires back to hit record and Portugal asks for help to Europe", News Diary of 12 August, it is expected that the value of the burned area grow further.
So the year 2017 regardless of how it will end, in fire concerns, will go down in history, as one of the darkest, not only in number of occurrences, as in burned area, but above all with regard to loss of life, whose fire Pedrógão Grande 17 June, has killed 64 people and two hundred wounded, It should be added more 55 injured, registered since the last 4th Friday, according to the Express article 15 of August "fires caused 55 injured in six days".
But the year 2017 It will also be recorded as one of the years with the highest number of arrests, as already mentioned, leading the President of Fire League, Jaime Marta Soares, to declare "that more than 80 % fires have criminal", SIC as part News 10 August with the title "League of Fire reinforces that 80% fires have criminal". In 2015, in the height, National Operational Commander, José Manuel Moura, declared that "90% fires are of human origin", noticiava as part of the TVI24 11 August.
Probably the conviction of the President of Fire League takes into account the high number of detainees by the practice of fire crime, verifying that to the incendiary profile is changing, as referred to in the article of the Public 8 August, with the title "Incendiary held by Judicial quadruple", where we learned that "quadrupled the number of women detained by the Judicial Police on suspicion of fire. Until August last year had recorded only two arrests, this year have been made eight".
About incendiary profile know, hair less from the 2010, than "the arsonists have generally 20 a 35 year old, are single or widowed, They have low levels of education and are unemployed", As indicated piece of the TSF 23 September 2010 with the title "PJ traces Portuguese arsonist's profile", which discloses a study of the Institute of Judicial Police, which concluded that this group totals 70%, being that only in 10% fires there are women involved and generally are two motivations "unresolved love problems and fascination with the show".
This subject is addressed, almost every year, by this height, so RR at its part 11 August last year with the title "arsonist profile is well defined", cites forensic psychologist at the University of Minho, Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves, What about the arsonist profile refers "it is nearly always in individuals with low educational attainment and professional qualification, people in rural areas, consumers of substances - including alcohol - and in many cases with a cognitive delays and disorders of mental disorders", and causing fires by "revenge or simply for trivial reasons", being that "very few are the cases in which it appears a monetary enticement", whose greatest difficulty is in "level of recidivism", that this kind of criminal offers, taking last year the Minister of Internal Affairs, Constance Sousa Urban to admit increase penalties fire crime, as part of RR 11 August 2016 with the title "Aggravation of penalties for arsonists to be 'seriously' examined, says minister", by reason of a petition called "Petition 25 years in prison for (kindle / sending) forest fire", which at the time had more than 10 thousand signatures and now has nearly 60 thousand, not having yet been presented yet.
But increasing penalties, most likely, The solution will not be, because according to the Audience article 7 September 2013 with the title "Only 6% of the damned forest arsonists had prison", states that "only 14 between two condemned 2007 and 2011 by forest fire crime seen them be applied a penalty of imprisonment". In a total of 280 convictions between 2007 and 2011 by forest fire crime, half of the defendants were subjected to suspended prison sentences and only 6% of those convicted by the lower courts be seen applied to them a sentence of imprisonment.
The article also states that "the overwhelming majority of convicts are men, against only 6% women. From the point of view of the ages, It stands out among the age group 40 and 49 years who are assigned 59 convictions. On the opposite side are minors with criminal responsibility (16 and 17 year old), registered with only three sentences, all in 2011".
On the reduced number of prison sentences, the criminal investigation coordinator PJ retired, António Carvalho, referring at the time considered to exist "a very condescending attitude towards this type of crime"And that"penalties should be exemplary". A completely opposite conclusion is made by the president of the Trade Union Association of Judges, Mouraz Lopes, stating that "it is necessary to distinguish between intentional fires and fires negligent. The latter are the most common, usually involving pastoralists and farmers, and those that apply to suspended sentences” and that "in intentional fires is that prison sentences are applied ", not wondering why between 2017 and 2011 It has only been 14 sentences to prison, also considering normal "that in cases where the arsonist is responding for the first time, it is not just applied prison".
In the same article it is referred to by Lieutenant Colonel Joaquim Delgado GNR, that concerning negligent fires, and taking into account the investigations carried out by this force, than "the largest share is negligent origin. represent 38% do total", intentional causes represent 23% and investigations that end without specific origin represent 30% do total.
Finished recalling that has repeatedly we addressed here in the LN the theme of forest fires, where almost everyone has praised the effort and dedication of all actors of civil protection, the combatants in particular, whereby, taking into account the high number of ignitions that occur every year and that result in the loss of human lives and the destruction of private property and public, empobrecendo or country, our opinion, that this country does not deserve the incendiary forest that has.
