The Maritime Police, through the Association of Inspectors and Chiefs, filed a lawsuit against the Portuguese State and the Navy, denouncing what it classifies as a situation of operational asphyxiation and military interference in its structure. The association took the Government and the Naval Command to court, claiming that the institution faces a serious crisis that threatens its existence.
The complaint points to a critical lack of material and operational resources that have been compromising the functioning of the Maritime Police. Association leaders warn that this resource shortage is creating conditions that could lead to the force's extinction, comparing the situation to that of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), which was recently dissolved.
The association also denounces a progressive depletion of the Maritime Police's personnel, which aggravates the inability to fulfill its inspection and security missions in Portuguese coastal zones and territorial waters. This personnel reduction phenomenon occurs in a broader context of difficulties affecting the institution.
The legal proceedings represent a decisive moment for the future of the Maritime Police, with the association demanding that urgent measures be taken to halt what it considers to be a process of dismantling the institution and to guarantee its operational autonomy from military oversight.
