Portuguese towns Abrantes and Braga adopt new surveillance tech to boost safety

The municipal council of Abrantes approved a protocol with Portugal's Polícia Judiciária to install seven mobile video‑surveillance cameras in the municipality’s forest areas. The system, costing about €6,000, aims to detect early fire ignitions, monitor risky behaviour and collect evidence for rural‑fire investigations. The cameras will be managed by the PJ, can be relocated to critical points, and are expected to become operational within days under a five‑year agreement.

In Braga, the city mayor João Rodrigues announced that the municipal road‑safety plan, due early July, may include the installation of speed radars to address a high rate of traffic accidents and pedestrian injuries. Council members and opposition officials have stressed the urgency of measures, describing recent accidents as a “massacre”. While the final decision on radar deployment rests on the forthcoming plan, the municipality is already implementing other safety actions.