Jonny22

I'm sure I've seen a thread on this before but can't for the life of me find it, so apologies.

How do I register the property for emergency assistance with the GNR and get one of the black and white plaques to put on the gate with the property ID number. Is there a form I can download? Presumably it's a visit to GNR HQ in Tavira with GPS coordinates, map etc. Am I correct in presuming that once that's in place all that would be needed would be to quote the number by phone for the emergency services to know where to go?

RichardHenshall

Would Crime Prevention Information from Safe Communities Algarve point you in the right direction?

Jonny22

Thanks Richard, I think this may be the same thing. I'll pop down the GNR and find out more. Good link.

liveaboard

I went into my local GNR office here in the Western Algarve and asked about it.
Nao, we don't have that here. Come back when you have crime to report.
No GPS in their cars, no phone location system, and just for good measure the officers are not locals.
Anyway, few folks around here have much worth stealing and the crime rate here is very low.
For now.

Old Biker

If you send an email to Gilberto Valente, who is at the main GNR station on the Santa Margarita round about; [email protected] or Tel 281 329 030 or 961 193 304 or 961 193 289 then someone will arrange to come out and verify your GPS co-ordinates and then give you a number which can be posted on your house. I used these details when I sorted my house out approx 3 years ago. I hope that this info is still current.

macliam

Yeah, but on the other hand, you don't need a GPS to stop cars and not many Bobbies have nice shiny riding boots and a 9mm.
The GNR are a national gendarmerie and have some choice over their postings but are very unlikely to be local. The tenente who attended the fire on my land was from Lisbon and chose the Alentejo as his posting - he was well educated and spoke good English, his cabo was from the Ribatejo but had been in the Alentejo for 9 years. Both seemed "good guys", but a year later, I've still heard nothing more........

I don't think I'd even bother approaching the local station about registration, it might work in the Algarve, but up here? Ourique alone has over 2,000km of unpaved roads.......

BillBullock

Jonny22:

This is the right direction. There is even a phone number for Tavira.

liveaboard

My village is heavily policed; we have our own permanently manned outpost for a village population of 600. They drive past on patrol 2 or 3 times a day.
So I asked them what's the crime rate like? What do I need to do? Should I have an alarm system or anything?

"We don't release that information." I was told. Just a really unhelpful bunch, not a pleasant experience and I won't go in there again unless I have to.

They did tell me that they have no electronic means of locating emergency callers. You have to describe your location, when half the roads are unnamed.
This part is not the fault of our local officers of course.

I'm happy to read about the positive relationship the GNR have with the residents in the central and eastern Algarve, I wish we had that kind of attitude around here.
And I wish they'd get GPS units. It's not exactly cutting edge technology.

macliam

Yes, they're generally not exactly forthcoming or user-friendly ..... but again, this is a product of their "position" as part of the army, rather than a civil protection and their history, as "supporters" of the old regime. Their situation in society is very different to anything we understand of policing in Britain.

In Portugal (like in Spain) the same officers who enforced the law under the Estado Novo continued after the carnation revolution. In Ireland, when the RIC were pulled out under the treaty (no chance of a handover, one day you have a police service, a civil service, etc., etc. and the next "you're on your own"!!), the decision was made that the new "Guardians of the Peace" should be civil, unarmed and heavily constrained. Likewise the army was prevented from enforcing civil compliance (That worked well until recently, where the same pressures that the British police have had has seen armed units within the Gardai). However, like in Portugal and unlike in the UK, An Garda Siochána is a national force, and Gards are posted away from their native towns.

Add to that an unfortunate Portuguese tendency for anyone "in control" to make damned sure you know it (Bank clerks, Civil Servants, you name it....) and you have an organization that doesn't see that it serves YOU, it serves the state AND doesn't recognise that you have any reason to question that fact.

Maybe they'd use GPS units if they were donated? Another outlet for expat support?

mfesharne

don't know about anyone else but I've noticed a very distinctive difference between the GNR & the PSP in my area.

The former are pretty much always friendly, helpful & polite whilst the vast majority of the latter are .......... ummmmmmm. Not.

Jonny22

Thanks all for the links and contact details. I'll drop by the GNR to make the application.

GeniB

Maybe its because they have some high profile people living in or regularly visiting your area Live. Information on a 'need to know ' basis and army background . Your village sounds suspiciously over manned and over patrolled to be just your ordinary low density ,poor locals and tourist place.

macliam

Any ex-Presidents in the area? After all, you're not even allowed to fly over their property!

I recall when friends of ours were buying the property of a certain Algarvian ex-PM and ex-President. We arrived with them to look at the house and there were GNR in full riot gear around it. My wife asked one of them if there had beeen a problem..... "Somos preperados, Senhora" came the reply, basically <snip> don't ask questions..... Lovely.

liveaboard

We get a lot of tourists in season, but no, there are no VIP's. Just potato farmers and empty villas owned by people who live far away.
I really don't know why we have so much police resources here. In summer they bring in extra people and even horses.
They stall the horses with a German resident, who is a known and convicted fraudster.
We do seem to have a low crime rate [although I never got numbers on that].

I'm told that around 10 years ago, before we came here, there was a large and growing "alternative" community camping down near the beach. Apparently there was music and dancing every night, and allegations of drug use. Numbers kept growing; hundreds of barefoot long haired hippies, or neo-hippies.
At that time, the roads to this area were really bad so few tourists, or anyone else, came here.
Anyway, GNR cracked down and drove them all out in a big operation.

The highly maned GNR outpost might be a relic of that scene.

Some locals had great disdain fo the hippies; others lamented their departure, telling me the economy of the town was crushed and never recovered. They didn't spend much, but there was a lot of them and many were staying through the year.

bejaboz

I thought "somos preperados" translated to "we are prepared"