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Crime falls across Portugal

burglaryRecorded crime declined in 2018 in all regions of Portugal, even the number of ATM explosions was down 90%.

In the parliamentary commission for Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, the Home Affairs Minister, Eduardo Cabrita, told MPs that the provisional 2018 data for crime showed that by November 2018, the trend of falling crime statistics had continued and quickened.

According to Cabrita, overall crime fell by 3.4% in 2018 compared to the previous year, while violent and serious crime, "the one that most affects the general perception of security," fell by about 10%.

Cabrita stressed that this reduction was general, experienced across the mainland and on Portugal’s island territories of Madeira and the Azores.

In relation to ATM explosions, caused by gangs wishing to make off with the contents, the minister said that there had been a reduction of 90% in 2018, from 300 occurrences in 2017 to "some four dozen," last year.