A gathering took place at Loulé GNR station on 26th January 2012 to mark the 2nd anniversary of the forming of the Safe Residence Program (SRP). Some 35 residents representing 17 villages who have joined the program attended the event which was hosted by Capitão Abel Arcanjo de Sousa Adriano, Commandante do Destascamento Territorial da GNR de Loulé and overall in charge of the SRP which operates in the area.
Also participating were the team themselves led by Cabo Chef Coutinho and team member Fredico Sousa Fragosa “Freddie” who have been with the team since its inception.
Captain Adriano gave a presentation outlining the development of program, its aims and objectives and its development since inception. Highlighted was the fact that over the last two years since the program has been in operation the number of violent indoor robberies has decreased from 5 in 2009 to none in 2011. It was acknowledged that burglaries were taking place in some areas and Captain Adriano highlighted the good work done by residents in passing information concerning these which had led to arrests of those concerned by the GNR. Two videos were shown of the program including one with an interview of residents and an interview with Coronal Francisco Matos Sousa the former Commander of the GNR Faro District which had been produced by Channel 5.
Captain Adriano added that the SRP had been accorded a high priority by the GNR top Command and was being implemented throughout the Algarve. It had also represented Portugal in the European Crime Prevention awards held in Brussels in 2010.
This was followed by a presentation by David Thomas who runs the SRP in Alfontes and who recently formed Safe Communities Algarve an online platform to provide crime prevention advice to the public. David started by thanking the support received by the Commander of the GNR Faro in creating this platform, which been recognized by a number of officials including the British Ambassador to Portugal and the Algarve Tourism Board. He explained the work of Safe Communities Algarve and how it complimented that of the SRP. He added that it there were now more than 20 downloads available to the public covering a diverse range of crime prevention advice from property protection, motorist crime, to dealing with intruders in the home.
After the presentations an informal celebration was held between GNR officers and residents to discuss the program in their villages. Present was David Cruz from Alfeiçao who was responsible together with the GNR for initiating the program in Alfeiçao in January 2010 following a series of violent residential robberies in the area towards the end of 2009. Initially the program was aimed to cover just Alfeiçao and one or two villages, but due to its success has expanded rapidly throughout the Loule area.
David and Dagmar Davies who initiated and formed the program in Cruz da Assumada, a small hamlet of 125 houses in the hills north of Loulé said “There is very little crime, but the SRP has certainly improved the GNR response time and made the householders feel more secure."
This was echoed by Jan and Peter Hinz who represent Vale Telheiro one of the first villages to join the program. They stated that “The programme has made a significant difference in relation to violent crime in our area. We were pleased to note that no violent crimes were reported in this area during 2011. However, the thieves haven’t totally given up and are seemingly now targeting vacant properties with metals being their favoured haul. We must all maintain our vigilance and keep an eye on our neighbours’ properties. The GNR cannot be everywhere and they need our cooperation”.
Also present was Annelies Wethmar Reugebrink who represents the village of Palmeiral and is the Honorary Consul to the Netherlands. Speaking as a long time resident of Palmeiral, Loulé, she added that “the SRP was a very direct and transparent way of handling dangerous and unsettling situations like increasing theft and house robberies.
Sylvia and Henning Thorndahl who developed the Program in Poco Geraldo in 2010 explained that their village had recently has recently suffered numerous burglaries. Helped by information from residents GNR have succeeded in apprehending some of the thieves. A good example of how the SRP is working.
Scott Innes representing Barranco De Apra summed up the benefits of the SRP well by stating “the SRP is a great idea, it greatly reduces the time of response of the emergency services, where sometimes seconds count. It also makes the people in the area more aware of strangers and to be on the lookout for unusual activity”.
David Thomas concluded that undoubtedly the Safe Residence Program had been a great success which was a remarkable achievement given the limited resources available. Response times to emergencies had considerably decreased as had violent robberies in the areas concerned. Villagers felt safer and information was being passed to the GNR more frequently which was helping them arrest those responsible.
