The Association of Maritime Police Inspectors and Chiefs (AICPM) filed a lawsuit against the State and the military command of the Navy at the Administrative Court of Lisbon on September 11. The association, which claims to have exhausted all dialogue channels, denounces an institution in "total chaos," affected by financial suffocation, lack of resources, and alleged "unlawful interference" that limits operational capacity. The process comes as the Maritime Police approaches its 107th anniversary.
Among the problems cited, the AICPM denounces that local commands are operating with only one police officer on duty, closed to the public from 5 PM. The Tactical Actions Group is reduced to a single nautical vehicle and the all-terrain vehicles are old and "fail en masse" in periodic inspections. The association also states that the Maritime Police does not have its own budget, depending on "crumbs" from the Navy, and that only 182 agents were hired in ten years, when the minimum legal framework requires 722 personnel.
The AICPM also contests the actions of the Chief of Naval Staff (CEMA), accusing him of interfering in the Maritime Police without hierarchical authority over the police, having dismissed three general commanders in two years. The association also criticizes the placement of Navy personnel in functions at the Maritime Police or at the Directorate-General for Maritime Authority, classifying this practice as "a scheme" to facilitate promotions. The structure repudiates the silence of successive Governments that "tolerate a military command dictating the rules and trampling on the legitimate command" of the security force.
The association draws a parallel with the abolition of the Foreigners and Borders Service and states that it "refuses to stand by and watch the deliberate disappearance of this specialized police," considering the legal action "a sign that career professionals will not tolerate further abuses."
