Future PSP agents say it’s ‘still worth it’ to pursue their dream of becoming a cop

Following a childhood dream, the example of one’s parents or the desire to help others is “still worthwhile” for many young people studying at the Practical Police School, despite the risk of the profession and the low salary.

About 500 students in the Torres Novas Practical Police School (EPP) agent course, divided into 20 classes, spend their days between theoretical and practical classes such as physical education, police intervention techniques, self-defense and shooting. .

It is in these practical trainings that future PSP police officers simulate situations very close to real life, which prepares them for the streets and the difficulties they will face upon arriving at the police station in the Lisbon area where they will be placed upon completion of their training. course at the end of June.

Lusa spent a day at EPP and attended some of these classes: future police officers learn how to defend themselves from attackers, how to handcuff a suspect, and fire their first shots with what will become their weapons in their careers, all accompanied by a lot of discipline. and rigor.

“Discipline and rigor are always taken into account from day one. Students are also assessed on this aspect. They have a merit score, which affects the final classification, because in the future, a police officer, in addition to following the rules, must also monitor compliance with the rules. essentially they have to follow the rules,” EPP training director Elisa Borges told Lusa.

The officer says that future agents are aware of the risks of the profession and what awaits them in Lisbon: “All the trainers are professionals who have worked in this field for many years and talk about the risks and practical situations that have happened in their lives. They leave here qualified, and it’s a hard life, with sacrifices, with risks.”

This risk and spirit of mission and sacrifice are already very much present in the future agents who entered the school last November, as in the case of 22-year-old Rui Martins, who has dreamed of becoming a police officer since childhood. : “Going to school for agent training is a dream come true.”

The young man from Tavira tells Lusa that from an early age he was in contact with the activities of the PSP and with the police in the area where he lived, and the fact that he had a cousin who worked as a policeman in Brazil was a determining and decisive factor. in choosing this profession and even the low salary did not prevent him from realizing his dream of becoming a police officer.

“Everything is in constant development. If we look at the conditions of police work 10, 20, 30 years ago, we can conclude that there has been a great evolution, and it is also up to us, within our capabilities, to ensure the legitimacy and legitimacy of what we have to fight for our conditions.” “he says, admitting that when he joined the EPP he had a “reality shock due to the discipline of the regime itself”, but ensures that what he is moving towards is an agent’s calling.

Being a police officer was not 28-year-old Luis Almeida’s ambition since childhood, but he decided to become an agent because of his desire to help others and because of the opportunity that now exists after raising the age to join the PSP. .

“I was always looking for something that would bring responsibility, that would be accepted by people and help others, and I felt that being a police officer fulfilled those ambitions. I have worked in several professions before. At that moment, I wanted to look for a more stable profession, and the police fit the bill,” says a young man from Amadora, a professional handball athlete.

Luis Almeida is aware of the risks of his profession, but says that when you do things “with taste, prudence and the necessary thoroughness,” anything is possible.

Maria João, 28, swapped her third year of nursing to become a police officer, encouraged by her father, an NSR soldier.

“I always had two ambitions: to become a nurse or a police officer, but the passion for the police profession awakened me and I decided to apply and was lucky enough to be accepted into this course,” says a young woman from Loures, who is aware of the low salaries and ​​the risk of the profession, but “none of this prevented” him from joining the PSP.

“It’s really worth being a police officer today,” he says.

Also PSP’s daughter, Marta Alves, 22, chose a profession influenced by her father: “Many members of my family work in the police, and that’s where the desire to be a policeman comes from, it has always been my desire to become a policeman.” The idea of ​​becoming a police officer while living with my father and uncle. I have always admired this profession.”

Even despite complaints about low wages, the young woman from Loures did not give up because it was “really a matter of taste and admiration.” “Like all professions, there are always bad sides, but he [pai] always encourages me to be on the positive side.”

Marcia Policarpo, 25, from Lisbon, tells Lusa that it was through firefighters and her degree in security policy that she discovered her interest in becoming a police officer, and admits that she sees PSP as an institution where she can advance her career.

“This is very good for young people, because the PSP has a special forces unit and an institute for those who want to continue their education, want to get a degree or a master’s degree. There are several opportunities at the PSP,” he emphasizes.

Students attending EPP must apply and pass various knowledge tests, physical tests, psychotechnical tests and a professional interview. The new competition for admission to agent courses will last until Tuesday.

In recent years, the attractiveness of the profession has declined and, according to data to which Lusa had access, in 2012 there were more than ten thousand candidates for agent courses, and in 2023 the number rose to just over three thousand.

The EPP Training Director does not know what needs to be done to change this situation. “Honestly, I don’t know, because it must be inherent in the person himself. If people don’t have the desire to be police officers and don’t have that longevity, we’ll have a hard time getting attention. I believe that people are probably not motivated to have a profession where discipline, rigor, missionary spirit and sacrifice prevail. Sometimes it is not easy for a young person aged 18 or 20 to make up his mind, so it is much easier to go to university. “

Elisa Borges acknowledges that risk and working conditions affect attractiveness, but emphasizes that through PSP you can advance your career and take courses that “could lead to making more money.”

“The police have never made good money, and in my personal case that was not the most important thing,” says the officer, who has worked in the PSP for 38 years.