Lisbon, Sept. 29, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's Public Security Police (PSP) recorded 4,075 incidents at schools during the last academic year, representing a 4.6% increase compared with the previous academic year, with the majority of offences taking place inside schools, the police force revealed on Tuesday.
According to the PSP's Safe Schools Programme (PES) report for the 2025/26 academic year, to which Lusa had access, of the 4,075 incidents, 2,898 were of a criminal nature and 1,177 were non-criminal.
In the document, the PSP states that, in the 2024/25 academic year, 3,897 incidents were recorded, of which 2,791 were criminal in nature and 1,106 were non-criminal.
Incidents rose by 4.6% in the last academic year (+178 incidents) due to a 3.8% increase in criminal incidents (+107 incidents) and a 6.4% rise in non-criminal incidents (+71 incidents), compared with the same period the previous year.
The PSP reports that the proportion of non-criminal incidents has been falling over the last five academic years, remaining below the average for the last decade, whilst in the 2025/26 academic year, the number of criminal incidents was above the average for the last 10 years.
«It is also worth noting that the number of criminal incidents has remained above this average since the 2023/2024 academic year. In that academic year, too, the total number of incidents was higher than the average for the last decade, a fact that is also evident in the academic year under review,» the report states.
Explaining that incidents covered by the ‘Safe School' scheme may occur either inside or outside educational establishments, or in both locations, the PSP points out that the majority of offences took place inside schools.
According to the PSP, 68.7% (1,992) of criminal incidents took place within school grounds and 31.3% (1,009) outside the school, of which 208 occurred on journeys between home and school or in connection with extracurricular activities.
Similarly, with regard to non-criminal incidents, 68.6% (808) were recorded inside schools and 31.4% (381) outside school premises, of which 68 occurred on journeys between home and school or in connection with extra-curricular activities.
The Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the PSP recorded the highest number of incidents during the last academic year, totalling 1,706, followed by the Porto Metropolitan Command (690) and the Setúbal District Command (342).
The district commands with the lowest number of offences under the PES were Évora (11), Portalegre (16) and Guarda (24).
The PSP also notes that a single criminal incident may involve several types of offence; in the 2025/26 academic year, under the PES, 3,370 offences were recorded amongst the 2,898 criminal incidents, representing a 3.5% increase compared with the previous academic year (3,257 offences).
CMP/AYLS // AYLS
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