The Portugal Public Security Police (PSP) is losing officers faster than it can train replacements, according to fresh data from the National Officers' Union (SNOP), which warns that critical command and supervision structures will remain dangerously understaffed until at least 2031—even with government measures announced this week.
Why This Matters
• Officer shortage at all-time low: The PSP closed 2025 with its smallest cadre of commissioned officers in history, weakening mid-level command capacity.
• 2031 timeline for relief: The government's expansion of training slots from 35 to 45 per year will take five years to produce operational officers.
• Workforce exodus continues: Nearly 100 officers annually request resignation or career suspension, often leaving for other civil service posts or international agencies like Frontex.
• Staffing crisis impacts daily policing: Cancelled rest days, 28-day continuous shifts, and diverted personnel for airport duties reduce street patrols and investigative capacity.
What This Means for Residents
For people living in Portugal, the officer shortage translates into visible service gaps. Rural and suburban PSP stations have reported reduced staffing hours, longer response times for non-emergency calls, and diminished capacity for community engagement programs. Urban centers face their own pressures: the dissolution of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) in 2023 transferred airport and maritime border control to the PSP, diverting hundreds of officers from patrol duties to passport checkpoints.
Operational strain is not abstract. In 2025 alone, one PSP officer died on duty, 10 required hospital treatment for injuries, 755 sustained minor injuries, and 549 were assaulted without physical harm, according to the 2025 Internal Security Annual Report (RASI). The same document recorded a net loss of 437 officers last year—895 exits against 458 recruits—leaving the force at 19,661 sworn personnel, the lowest headcount in a decade. This represents a reduction from approximately 20,600 officers at peak staffing in the mid-2010s, highlighting a roughly 1,000-officer deficit from authorized strength.
Union Accuses Government of "Political Delaying Tactics"
The SNOP issued a sharply worded statement following a Monday meeting between Portugal's Minister of Internal Administration, Luís Neves, and PSP union representatives. The union says the session "reflects the government's minimal willingness to genuinely address the PSP's structural problems," accusing officials of "political and economic expediency" that prioritizes short-term gestures over systemic reform.
Central to the dispute is a newly proposed airport duty allowance—a monthly supplement for officers working at Portugal's international airports. The union frames this as a reactive measure triggered by operational stress at border checkpoints, rather than a comprehensive strategy to stabilize the force. "Unfortunately, the logic of deferring decisions to next month, next year, or the next mandate seems to be the preferred strategy," the statement reads. "Problems are postponed, solutions delayed, and those who uphold a fundamental pillar of the rule of law are devalued."
The SNOP notes that while the airport supplement addresses one pressure point, it ignores broader demands for housing support, childcare vouchers, free public transport for officers, and a formal occupational health and safety regime—proposals the union has circulated for years.
Training Expansion Welcomed But Deemed "Manifestly Late"
During a swearing-in ceremony for new officer cadets, Minister Neves confirmed that the Officer Training Course (CFOP—Curso de Formação de Oficiais de Polícia) will expand from 35 annual places to 45, starting with the 2027 intake. The SNOP calls the move "an important measure we have advocated for several years to stem the outflow to other [public sector] careers," but cautions against "creating the illusion that this announcement solves existing problems, since its effects will only begin to be felt in 2031."
The delay arises from the CFOP's structure: candidates require approximately four years of coursework and field training before assuming command roles. Given that hundreds of PSP personnel are approaching retirement age and operational demands are intensifying, the union argues the reform arrives too late to avert a mid-level leadership vacuum over the next half-decade.
Salary Increases and Infrastructure Investments Underway
The government counters that it has delivered tangible improvements. A July 2024 agreement with unions locked in phased pay rises: entry-level officers now earn €1,704 per month as of 2026, a 43% increase since 2023. The risk and service supplement climbed from €100 to €400 over three years.
Budget allocations for 2026 earmark €134.9 M for police infrastructure and equipment, including 58 station refurbishments or new builds and delivery of approximately 1,300 vehicles to the PSP and National Republican Guard (GNR). Body-worn cameras are scheduled for rollout this year, and the Ministry of Internal Administration's personnel budget rose 11.3% to €2.35 billion, representing 74.4% of total security spending.
Generational Turnover Plan Aims for First Positive Balance in 15 Years
Authorities have authorized roughly 900 officers in pre-retirement to exit in 2026 while simultaneously recruiting more than 1,400 trainees. If successful, this would mark the PSP's first year of net staff growth since 2011. To widen the applicant pool, eligibility rules were relaxed in 2025: the maximum age rose from 30 to 35 years, and the minimum height requirement for men dropped by several centimeters. Applications subsequently increased, though attrition during training remains a concern—hundreds of academy places went unfilled in recent years.
Persistent Structural Weaknesses
Beyond staffing numbers, unions highlight systemic deficiencies the government has yet to address:
• Aging workforce: The average PSP officer is over 50 years old; approximately 4,000 personnel hold pre-retirement rights but have been blocked from leaving to maintain operational minimums.
• Workload creep: Daily requests from courts, municipalities, and hospitals for officer presence divert resources. Large-scale protests, festivals, and migrant arrivals add unpredictable surges.
• Decaying facilities: A June 2026 Inspectorate-General of Internal Administration (IGAI) audit found serious gaps in detention record-keeping and near-total absence of video surveillance in holding cells. Earlier reports documented rodent infestations, leaks, and cramped quarters in several stations.
• Mental health and burnout: No formal occupational health framework exists for officers; unions report rising stress-related absences and a "profoundly retrógade institutional culture."
The Professional Police Association (ASPP/PSP) has gone further, questioning whether certain high-profile operations serve "genuine public safety objectives" or are being "politically or partisanly instrumentalized."
Long Wait for Operational Relief
The SNOP insists that expanding CFOP intake to 45 places is "important but manifestly late." With 69 officers leaving in 2025 alone—mostly via retirement or transfer to agencies offering better pay and work-life balance—the pipeline barely replaces natural attrition. Until the enlarged cohorts graduate in the early 2030s, Portugal will continue to operate with a hollowed-out command structure, leaving thousands of front-line agents with insufficient supervision during a period of mounting operational complexity.
The union's closing message is unambiguous: "While measures whose effects will only be felt in several years are announced, the concrete problems of the thousands of officers who daily honor their commitment—placing their safety and, if necessary, their lives at the service of citizens—remain unresolved."
