"Regarding group criminality, 2,048 arrests were made (+13.1%). Regarding violence carried out within the group, there has been an increase in conflicts and in the level of violence used in the post-lockdown period", states the RASI for 2023, delivered today by the Government to the Assembly of the Republic.

The document highlights the dynamics resulting from youth and young people groups and those involving organised criminal groups, especially those dedicated to drug trafficking.

According to the RASI, group criminality, defined as the commission of a crime by three or more suspects, increased by 14.6% in 2023, registering a total of 6,756 occurrences, the highest value since 2014.

Juvenile delinquency, which includes crimes committed by young people between the ages of 12 and 16, also registered an increase of 8.7%, totalling 1,833, the highest number since 2017.

Within the scope of group criminality, the RASI states that the suspects are young people between the ages of 15 and 25, and it is a phenomenon that has had a considerable impact in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.

"Some dynamics associated with rivalries between groups from different areas or neighbourhoods of the metropolitan area continue to be observed. These conflicts are usually mentioned in music and video clips of musical subcultures that present hyperlocal and hyperpersonal references (specifically to a geographical area, particular occurrence, individual or specific date)", reads the document, which highlights "the role played by digital, namely social networks, which present themselves as an extension of the group and the neighbourhood itself".

Regarding juvenile delinquency, the RASI reports that throughout 2022 and 2023, some investigations and operations were carried out by security forces and services, but even so there must be "a considerable number of unreported figures (crimes not reported)".

The document also states that, in the Lisbon metropolitan area, the municipalities of Loures and Amadora have the highest number of occurrences and highlights the locations of crimes near shopping centres and intermodal stations, "thus enhancing the impact of news in the media and the consequent feeling of insecurity".

"There is also a trend of episodes (some unreported) near educational establishments, probably because the perpetrators know some of the victims' routines and the establishments they frequent", highlights the RASI, also reporting on groups associated with drug trafficking, namely groups that are dedicated to retail sale, with a more localised presence near the main points of sale in the two metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto.

The report also indicates that there are a large number of violent and serious occurrences on the south bank of the Tagus, mainly in the Barreiro area, where there are offences against physical integrity, kidnapping and abduction of individuals associated with drug trafficking.

Read Also: Crimes ligados ao tráfico e consumo de drogas aumentaram 19,4% em 2023 (Portuguese version)