How Does the Police System Work in Lisbon?

Staying safe is one of the most important things both at home and abroad, so understanding the local police system and knowing the emergency phone numbers can be significant. All info below should help you stay safe and happy during your few months living in Lisbon.

PSP stands for Polícia de Segurança Pública, essentially the normal police. It falls under the jurisdiction of regular courts. It’s headed by the Minister of Internal Affairs and functions much as a regular police force would. The GNR, or Guarda Nacional Republicana, is a military branch that falls under military courts and is headed by the Minister of Defence. But why are they important here? Both the PSP and the GNR do everyday street-level policing and heading investigations and undergoing your typical police work.

But their jurisdictions are different. The PSP works in major cities, like Lisbon, Porto, and larger towns in the Algarve, while the GNR polices the rest of the country. While the population they cover is roughly equal, the GNR covers almost 96% of the country’s area. In comparison, the PSP only has 4%. All of this may seem confusing, but don’t worry; it should not be a big issue most of the time. It’s just good to know how the system works, so you don’t find yourself confused if an emergency happens.

In Lisbon and the rest of Portugal, all you need to do is to call 112 when in an emergency of any kind. The 112 number has been agreed upon throughout the entire European Union, so even if you travel beyond the borders of Portugal, you can still call this number for help. The way it works is that you call 112 and speak to an operator about the nature of your emergency.

Once you tell the operator, they will re-route you to the correct emergency service, be it police, a hospital, or the fire department. A few special numbers like 117, which you should call in the case of a forest fire, or 214 401 919 in sea rescue, but you only need to remember 112, as they will re-route you even to these numbers.