PSP Cadets Risk Expulsion After Secret Boxing Brawls at Torres Novas Academy

The brief but telling viral clip of shirtless recruits trading punches in a Torres Novas bathroom says more than hours of official briefings: the PSP’s future agents crossed a red line, the command reacted within 24 hours, and eight budding officers now risk being sent home before ever pinning on a badge.

Snapshot for the rushed reader

• Where: Escola Prática de Polícia (EPP), Torres Novas, Ribatejo

• When: 15-19 December, during the night-time curfew

• What: Improvised boxing bouts, filmed and shared on social media

• Who: At least 8 trainees under formal disciplinary inquiry

• Possible penalty: From written reprimand to expulsion

Inside the makeshift ring: what really unfolded

According to internal security logs reviewed by reporters, a string of late-night gatherings in a ground-floor lavatory escalated into full-on sparring sessions. Recruits stripped to the waist, donned boxing gloves and fought while several dozen classmates cheered, filmed and posted 30-second highlights on private messaging groups. No serious injuries were recorded, yet the events breached four separate provisions of the school’s disciplinary code, including the ban on "physical activities outside authorised areas" and the mandatory 22:00 lights-out rule.

The school’s CCTV network did not cover the bathroom, but motion sensors in adjacent corridors triggered alerts. Those alerts, rather than the social-media fragments that surfaced later, prompted the 18 December internal inquiry—a detail the command is keen to emphasise to counter the perception that it merely reacted to public outrage.

Why the top brass pounced so quickly

For Lisbon headquarters, the incident struck at three pressure points simultaneously:

Reputation risk: A force that already struggles to attract candidates—35 trainees quit the same Torres Novas course last spring—cannot allow footage that looks like a scene from Fight Club to circulate unchecked.

Legal boundaries: Because the eight involved are not yet sworn officers, only the EPP directorate—not the national commander—can impose sanctions. Still, the Statute on Police Discipline (Law 37/2019) sets an uncompromising tone: activities that "undermine institutional prestige" may warrant dismissal even before graduation.

Political optics: The Interior Ministry faces parliamentary scrutiny over police training standards after a 2023 report showed a 22 % drop in disciplinary cases nationwide but a spike in "hazing" episodes at academies.

With those factors converging, the school moved to isolate the recruits, confiscate their phones and open eight individual case files. The final rulings are expected by early spring.

How common is discipline inside Portuguese police schools?

Public statistics are thin, yet a mosaic of official reports offers clues:

• Between 2020 and 2024 the Inspectorate-General for Internal Administration (IGAI) tallied 65 disciplinary investigations across PSP and GNR in 2023—down from 84 a year earlier.• In the last five years, only three expulsions involved cadets; most sanctions were short suspensions or compulsory counselling.• Nevertheless, commanders privately concede that "micro-aggressions" and off-the-books physical challenges remain a "cultural residue" from past paramilitary traditions.

Analysts say the Torres Novas episode could become the benchmark case that pushes the PSP toward stronger psychological screening, tighter dormitory supervision and clearer anti-hazing clauses.

International mirror: hazing hazards around the globe

Torres Novas is hardly alone. South Korea’s Chungju academy is still probing an incident where cadets allegedly sprayed colleagues with pepper-spray during bunk inspections. In the United States, lawsuits in Denver and Massachusetts describe recruits forced to crawl on blistering asphalt or continue drills after losing consciousness. Each scandal triggered a similar reform pattern:

• mandatory peer-intervention training (EPIC model in New Orleans)

• explicit "zero-tolerance" clauses for bullying and hazing

• expanded focus on emotional regulation and de-escalation skills

Portugal’s police unions argue that adopting at least some of these measures would cost far less than defending the next viral outrage.

What happens now—and why it matters beyond Torres Novas

The eight cadets will present written defences this month; verdicts could arrive before the next intake in April. Expulsion is on the table, though insiders predict a mix of suspended sentences and compulsory ethics modules for first-time offenders.

Either way, the case is likely to feed a broader debate: can a profession that demands measured use of force tolerate even playful violence in its own barracks? For a country where public trust in the PSP still hovers above 70 %, the answer will help define the next generation of officers—and reassure communities from Bragança to Faro that the badge still stands for discipline, restraint and service.