The Ministry of Internal Administration is moving to widen the pool of potential candidates for Portugal’s Public Security Police (PSP) by raising the upper age limit for applicants from 30 to 35.
However, the country’s largest police union, the ASPP, has sharply criticised the move, calling it a “desperate measure from those who don’t understand what’s happening inside the PSP.”
According to an official source from the ministry, the new regulation setting out the revised admission requirements for the PSP Training Course for Agents will be published shortly.
Another change concerns height requirements. The current minimums, 1.60 metres for women and 1.65 for men, will be scrapped. Instead, the national director of the PSP will determine height limits by internal order.
“We’re pleased to have concluded this process, which we believe will expand the PSP’s recruitment base,” a source from the office of Interior Minister Maria Lúcia Amaral told Diário de Notícias. “There was negotiation with the unions and close communication with the PSP’s national leadership,” the same source added.
But that claim has been firmly rejected by the ASPP. Speaking to journalists, Paulo Jorge Santos, president of the ASPP–PSP, denied that the union had agreed to the changes. “The ASPP made its position clear from the start. These are desperate proposals, mere stopgaps from people who don’t understand what’s going on inside the PSP. It’s just kicking the can down the road instead of solving the real problems,” he said.
Earlier this year, minister Blasco acknowledged that the Public Security Police (PSP) is facing an “evident” shortage of personnel, stressing the need for urgent measures to attract younger recruits and “reverse the pyramid” within the force.
“The desertification of the forces is clear. We will have to develop a set of procedures, focus on recruitment and on making the police career more attractive, in order to reverse that pyramid,” Blasco told the parliamentary committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees.
As an example of the scale of the problem, the minister revealed that there are currently only 16 sub-commissioners serving across the entire country, with the PSP’s overall strength standing at between 19,000 and 20,000 officers.
She added that 60% of PSP officers are now over the age of 40, underscoring the urgency of rejuvenating the force. “We need to move quickly to rejuvenate the entire institution and attract young people, because the average age is, in fact, very high,” Blasco said.
On the other hand, Santos argues that the PSP’s recruitment crisis is “structural,” rooted in low pay, poor working conditions, disregard for rights, and lack of career recognition. He also pointed to limited internal mobility as a deterrent: “A young officer from Bragança, for example, doesn’t like the idea of waiting twenty years just to be transferred back to their home region.”
As for the supposed “negotiations” cited by the ministry, Santos was unequivocal: “If the ministry claims the unions agreed, that’s a lie. What took place was merely a consultation.”
He added that if the ministry persists in changing recruitment criteria by altering age and height limits, “that’s the sole responsibility of the MAI and the PSP’s National Directorate, not the ASPP.”
The National Union of Police Officers (SNOP) has gone further, proposing that the maximum age be raised to 45. According to its president, Bruno Pereira, “age shouldn’t be a barrier if a person can pass the entry tests.”
“The discussion began in September to address a problem that won’t be solved by this change alone,” Pereira told the press. “At best, it may help mitigate the shortage of police candidates.”
He added that the number of applicants is “in free fall” both in the PSP and in the GNR, Portugal’s national gendarmerie. SNOP suggested that the age limit be extended to 45 for public servants and 40 for the general population, aligning Portugal more closely with practices in other Western countries, where limits are higher or, in some cases, non-existent.
“Age shouldn’t be a limiting factor when someone demonstrates the ability to pass the tests and brings valuable professional experience,” Pereira said. “A 40-year-old can still be perfectly capable of performing police duties.”
Earlier this year, then-Interior Minister Margarida Blasco had already attempted to raise the maximum recruitment age to 34, and 39 for public servants and military personnel, but her decree was revoked just two weeks after publication.
The reversal came after it emerged that PSP unions had not been formally consulted, as required by law.
At the time, the government justified the proposed reforms as an “update to the rules governing recruitment procedures, deadlines, and selection methods,” as well as an effort to “broaden the pool of eligible candidates.”
Back in 2022, the government had already adjusted the age limits for PSP recruitment, lowering the minimum age from 19 to 18 and raising the maximum from 27 to 30. The reform also allowed applicants still completing secondary school to enter police training.
