Record 4,027 Apply for Portugal’s PSP Police Jobs After Entry Rules Relaxed
Portugal’s national police force just recorded its busiest talent hunt in half a decade. More than 4 027 hopefuls rushed to sign up for the latest Public Security Police (PSP) exam, attracted by looser entry rules but still confronted with the profession’s long-running pay and workload dilemmas.
Snapshot for the time-pressed
• Highest tally since 2021: 4 027 candidates filed papers between 28 Nov and 23 Dec 2025
• Age limit now 35, up from 30; public-sector staff may apply up to 40
• Minimum height for men cut to 1.60 m, matching the bar already set for women
• Roughly 3 102 men and 925 women in the pool; 201 of them aim for the PSP band
• Training course for 800 recruits pencilled in for late June
Why the surge matters on Portuguese streets
For residents who measure security by the sight of a blue-striped patrol car, the jump in applications offers a glimmer of relief. PSP leadership says the force needs 3 500-5 000 extra officers over the next few years to maintain round-the-clock patrols in Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve’s tourism hotspots. A deeper recruitment bench could also ease pressure on ageing precincts in the interior, where staffing gaps often leave only two officers covering entire counties overnight.
Crunching the record-breaking numbers
The latest call registered 635 more applicants than the intake announced in February 2025 and almost 1 200 more than the 2024 contest. While still a far cry from the 16 000-plus hopefuls of the 1990s, the current figure reverses a four-year slump that unions blamed on stagnating salaries and escalating work hours. Women now account for 23 % of total candidates, echoing a gradual yet steady uptick in female interest since 2019.
A rulebook rewritten to widen the net
Interior-ministry officials credit the spike to two seemingly simple tweaks: lifting the age ceiling to 35 and shaving 5 cm off the male height requirement. Recruiters say those centimetres opened doors for hundreds of otherwise fit applicants who had repeatedly failed on stature alone. The ministry quietly tested online briefings, Instagram Q&As and a streamlined portal that completes the entire candidacy in under 20 minutes—no more paper queues at district commands.
Cheers, grumbles and cautious optimism
Police-study academics applaud the broader socio-economic mix now represented, arguing it reflects Portugal’s real demographic profile. Yet the main police union, ASPP/PSP, calls the volume "still insufficient" when measured against retirement forecasts. Union leader Paulo Santos insists the government is "patching a leak with a Band-Aid" while entry-level pay hovers around €1 930 gross and overtime climbs. PSP Director-General Luís Carrilho counters that fine-tuning the selection filter and compressing course length—without trimming content—could double annual graduations.
A decade in perspective
Annual applicant counts since 2016 have swung between 2 182 and 3 743 before this year’s jump. Analysts link the fluctuation to broader labour-market cycles: when tourism booms, security jobs look stable; when private wages rise, police work loses allure. The 2020-2021 pandemic further muddied the pattern, with exams postponed and training colleges repurposed for testing centres.
What happens next
The PSP will publish provisional acceptance lists early in the new year. Physical tests, psychometric screens and background checks follow through spring, trimming the field to the 800 trainees expected at the Torres Novas academy in June. Their graduation, slated for early 2027, should coincide with the rollout of new body-cams and community-policing pilots—technology the force hopes will make the badge more appealing to the next wave of recruits.
The takeaway for citizens
More boots in training is a positive headline, but retaining talent after the first contract remains the real litmus test. Until pay scales, career-progression maps and urban-rural staffing imbalances improve, Portugal’s police classrooms may keep filling at record pace while precinct lockers quietly empty two or three years later.
The Portugal Post in as independent news source for english-speaking audiences.
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