Portugal: Security in Gas Stations

The security of gas stations is an aspect of urban policing of vital importance for the Public Security Police (PSP). It was with this priority in mind that the PSP and the Portuguese Association of Oil Companies (APETRO) held fifteen awareness-raising actions on safety, active and passive, at points of sale of fuel to the public, between December 2022 and February this year. Of these sessions, ten took place online and five in person. The sessions lasted about two hours and targeted the legal concepts associated with the most common criminal occurrences in these establishments, the prevention of these occurrences and the minimization of damages and consequences, especially the consequences to people's physical integrity when these crimes are not prevented. Six hundred managers of gas stations, who were trained to replicate the information to the employees of the gas stations they manage, attended these actions. The PSP continues to invest in information and training on prevention as a way to reduce the likelihood of crimes occurring. The availability and enthusiasm of our partners in all the programs and projects lead by the PSP under the scope of the Integrated Model of Community Policing, such as APETRO, contributes decisively to achieve this purpose.

The project started July 2022 with meetings between PSP and APETRO and the drawing of the raising awareness sessions contents that started in December 2022 and ended February 2023.