Porto mayor Pedro Duarte has called for a “tougher approach” from police and judicial authorities against drug trafficking, arguing that the problem is taking a heavy toll on drug users, families and public spaces across the city.
Speaking on Friday after visiting Porto’s new night shelter for homeless people, Duarte stressed that his comments were aimed at traffickers rather than drug users.
“There needs to be a tougher approach; I’ve been saying this, I’m not afraid of the word,” he said.
“We don’t want to punish people; we want to punish the traffickers – make no mistake about that – and we want to tackle the phenomenon itself, this scourge of drugs.”
The mayor, elected on a PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition ticket, acknowledged that drug trafficking is difficult to combat but said that should not lead authorities to accept the situation as inevitable.
He argued that more could be done to “stabilise or even reverse the unacceptable flows of drug trafficking”, which he insists “destroy society, values and the lives of so many people and families.”
“We cannot pretend that this is not happening,” the mayor stated.
According to Duarte, there needs to be a coordinated response involving health, social services, police and the courts.
Duarte also criticised situations in which people detained over drug offences allegedly return quickly to the same locations.
“If the laws need to be changed, let them be changed,” he said, adding that more resources should also be made available to police if necessary.
The council and PSP have already begun a joint intervention plan in areas including Pasteleira, Fluvial and Aleixo, focusing on policing, social support, health, street cleaning and improvements to public spaces.
Drug use and homelessness
Duarte also linked the growth of drug trafficking and consumption to the number of people sleeping rough in Porto.
The municipality opened a 120-bed night shelter in September, offering users a bed, showers, clean clothes and breakfast, together with health, psychosocial and employment support.
According to the mayor, use of the centre has grown steadily and is now reaching around 80 people per night.
While describing the facility as a positive step, Duarte said emergency accommodation alone would not solve the underlying causes of homelessness.
“These are quick fixes, so to speak, but this is no way to live,” he said.
He argued that getting people permanently off the streets requires cooperation between several institutions and greater attention to the reasons people become homeless in the first place.
Duarte has previously said that more than 1,000 people are experiencing homelessness in Porto and that addiction is a factor for many of them, while calling for stronger involvement from central government in health, social security and drug policy.
Source: LUSA