This was one of several new measures for the city announced by Albufeira Mayor José Carlos Rolo during the annual Mayor’s New Year’s Speech.
Speaking to journalists during the traditional address at Albufeira Town Hall, Mayor Rolo explained that the video surveillance cameras will be installed “in the most problematic areas, which make news for the worst reasons”, a situation that the Municipality intends to change.
The first locations to be equipped with video-surveillance will include the Oura strip and Albufeira town centre itself, throughout the new year of 2019.
However, the mayor regretted that the matter is currently stuck in the Ministry of Internal Affairs; the process is “being a bit slow”, he lamented.
Alluding to concerns of loss of privacy, the Mayor said video surveillance, whose installation is subject to prior authorisation by the National Commission for Data Protection, “is very useful, as long as it is clear for what it is intended”.
Authorities widely consider that the installation of cameras on public streets, whose images can only be accessed by the PSP or GNR police depending on the area, has a deterrent and preventive effect, making the areas where they are installed safer and more appealing to residents, tourists and potential investors.
News of drunken brawls and rowdy disturbances in Albufeira has become an all-too-common occurrence, particularly in summer.
One of the most recent and widely-broadcast cases occurred in June 2017, when a 600-strong throng of young Brits on an organised package holiday clashed with GNR officers, culminating in officers firing rubber bullets to subdue the unruly crowd.
In other news, Albufeira council is also to invest eight million euros in building two new old age homes and day centres in Olhos de Água and Fontainhas, as well as green spaces and parking.