In the increasingly abstract and heterogeneous world in which we live, security appears to be one of the main bulwarks of human freedom. The growing number of people occupying the same territory, combined with the increasingly dominant feeling of alienation from the Central State, generates in citizens a feeling of alienation and a sense of insecurity that has been much discussed within public opinion.
In local life, the weakening of community spirit is the most natural consequence of this phenomenon. Despite the active efforts of national security forces – police authorities, Civil Protection and the Army – to make everyone feel safe, local authorities emerge as essential to satisfy this purpose without weakening each citizen’s sense of belonging to their community.
Even though they have several instruments at their disposal to promote the safety of their inhabitants – such as articulating cooperation between the various existing authorities and investing in the requalification of police facilities – municipalities will only be able to pursue this goal if they have more means to protect themselves. Investment in security institutions closest to citizens is, therefore, the most appropriate solution to this problem. This is, for example, the case of the Municipal Police, to whose scope some of the powers of the national security forces should be decentralized.
Although embryonic, this is a measure with numerous advantages. With more skills, police officers would be less tied to administrative tasks, thus becoming a regular presence on the streets of each municipality. In turn, security technology would gain a firmer purpose, allowing immediate police action in the face of incidents they face and not just signaling them for action by national authorities.
The feeling of security is not a myth, nor is it superficiality. It is a requirement of an increasingly abstract political world, in which local authorities have a fundamental role to play.
Here, Cascais has been meeting this goal with the training of 115 agents, the opening of a competition with 100 new vacancies for the Municipal Police, the acquisition of 50 new vehicles and the installation of 168 video surveillance cameras, the number of which will reach 440 in the coming years.
But for the safety of citizens to be truly ensured, it is essential to have a coherent legal framework that attributes more skills to the Municipal Police. Because in a safer municipality, families’ comfort increases and community spirit comes to life; national and international companies are attracted to municipalities and generate more jobs for their inhabitants, while tourism flourishes; and, finally, doors open for the construction of active cultural communities, where citizens act in solidarity with each other.
Where there is security, there is freedom; and it is up to the municipalities to be their guarantors.
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