Law enforcement in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

is the responsibility of three bodies:

Guarda Nacional Republicana
Portuguese National Republican Guard
The Portuguese National Republican Guard is the gendarmerie of Portugal. Members of the GNR are soldiers, who, unlike the agents of the Public Security Police , are subject to military law and organisation...

- National Republican Guard. A Gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...

who mainly work in rural areas too small to warrant the PSP, and provide a national highway patrol
Highway patrol
A highway patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is primarily concerned with such duties.Duties of highway patrols or traffic...

and fiscal guard
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

.
Polícia de Segurança Pública
Polícia de Segurança Pública
The Polícia de Segurança Pública - PSP is the Portuguese police force that works in large urban areas. Rural towns and areas are under the protection of the Portuguese Republican National Guard...

- Public Security Police. Civilian police force who work in larger urban areas.
Polícia Judiciária
Polícia Judiciária
The Polícia Judiciária is the main police branch of criminal investigation in Portugal, dedicated to fighting criminality, organized crime, terrorism, drugs, corruption and financial crimes...

- Judicial Police. Overseen by the Public Ministry
Public Ministry (Portugal)
The Ministério Público is the Portuguese body of autonomous magistrates formed of public prosecutors. It is a body of the Portuguese judicial system which includes the Procuradoria-Geral da República....

, they investigate criminal cases.

See also