"We have 223 employees in all the islands" and a contest is finishing for the entry of 68 new professionals, said the national director, Manuel da Lomba, adding that "the negotiation" with the Government will show "the need for [there to be] more employees and to open new departments and units in other islands".

The population dispersion (500,000 inhabitants) by nine of the 10 islands of the archipelago and the vast coastal area are characteristics to be taken into account in the criminal investigation, he underlined.

"There is a strong commitment from the Government, namely through the Minister of Justice, tireless in the search for solutions, and we are in tune to see if we can have more inspectors in the coming years", he said, without giving numbers.

"I am thinking of an average, which I cannot reveal", he said.

"Combating crime is expensive, the investigation is expensive", but "the most important thing is to maintain the Rule of Law, democracy and freedom. That has no price", indicated Manuel da Lomba.

The national director was speaking in the capital, Praia, island of Santiago, on the sidelines of the conference "Judicial Police - 31 years of Proactivity and Commitment in the Prevention and Fight against Crime", in which Luís Neves, national director of the Judicial Police of Portugal, participated.

"The relevance of Cape Verde is great" in the panorama of international police cooperation, "due to the quality of the people who work here and the geostrategic positioning, from the point of view of one of the great world threats, which is drug trafficking", said Luís Neves to Lusa.

"The fight is global and Cape Verde has great relevance in this sense and also great interest, because it wants to be part of this fight", he added, classifying the country as "a credible partner".

During a presentation at today's conference, Luís Neves addressed several times the new technological challenges in combating organized crime.

"The technological issue has definitely entered, many years ago, and now drastically, in the criminal investigation and in the dismantling of organizations", he explained.

In practice, "if criminals use all this technology", such as "encrypted or satellite communication" among other functionalities, to combat them effectively, the police must have "the same legal and technological means, 'software' and trained people", he concluded.

The programme of commemorations of the 31 years of the PJ of Cape Verde includes, on Saturday, a solemn act with tributes to retired personnel and to employees for seniority, along with the signing of cooperation protocols with the ports of Cape Verde, National Police and Armed Forces.

Leia Também: Banco de Cabo Verde sobe taxas de juro de referência para 1,5% (Portuguese version)