GNR launches Escola Segura 2026/2027 campaign in Portugal

The Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) has launched the ‘Escola Segura’ 2026/2027 campaign to mark the return to classes across mainland Portugal. The operation covers more than 4,400 educational establishments and aims to reach approximately 670,000 students through awareness actions for students, teachers, and guardians.

The initiative focuses on promoting self-protection behaviors, fostering inclusion, and preventing deviant social behaviors. This follows a previous academic year in which the GNR recorded 2,631 crimes in school environments. The most frequent offenses included simple voluntary physical assault (950 cases), threats and coercion (388 cases), theft of unattended objects (137 cases), and defamation or slander (118 cases).

More serious offenses were also noted, including 61 crimes against sexual freedom, 45 cases of child maltreatment, 45 instances of illegal weapon possession or trafficking, and 44 drug trafficking cases. Additionally, the GNR recorded 748 non-criminal occurrences, such as school disruptions and cases of school abandonment.