Polícia Judiciária
The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) - Judiciary Police is the main police branch of criminal investigation in Portugal, dedicated to fighting criminality, organized crime, terrorism, drugs, corruption and financial crimes. It is integrated into the Ministério da Justiça, under the supervision of the Ministério Público.
History
The present Polícia Judiciária originates from the Secção de Polícia Judiciária from the old Polícia Cívica. The force was founded on 2 July 1867, during the reign of Luís I of Portugal, under the name Polícia Civil. On 20 October 1945, the Polícia de Investigação Criminal changed its name to Polícia Judiciária.
Organization
The PJ is directed by a Director Nacional (National Director), Directores Regionais (Regional Directors) and has several other structures. There are local branches in several Portuguese cities across the country. It is a highly specialised and technically autonomous force, at both technical and scientific levels.
Work
The Polícia Judiciária is officially responsible for criminal investigation and evidence collection. The crime fighting work performed by the Polícia Judiciária is widely regarded as one of the most effective and beneficial of the Portuguese law enforcement system and is regularly showed in the Portuguese media. Major drug trafficking combat operations are often reported in the main Portuguese television networks and other media, as well as dismantle of organized crime groups linked with corruption, burglary, robbery or falsification. In addition to this, almost all homicides in Portuguese territory are handled by the PJ (there is also the unrelated Polícia Judiciária Militar, the criminal investigation military police).
Although disappearance of children is rare in Portugal in comparison with a number of other developed countries, the Polícia Judiciária has a rate of success of 77.43% in finding missing children, including abductions and runaway children.[1][2]
In 2007, the Polícia Judiciária dealt with a very peculiar case that occurred among British citizens in the Portuguese region of Algarve. "The Case McCann" came into the international media spotlight after wide and long-lasting media coverage by the British media, including Sky News and BBC World.