Prison Service Director General Rui Abrunosa Goncalves no longer enjoys the protection of the PSP Corps of Personal Security (CSP). ABOUT CM found that the decision to withdraw the benefit – until now the Directorate General of Prison Services (DGSP) was the only one benefiting – was taken following a risk assessment carried out by the Information and Security Service. The latest, carried out at the end of 2023, determined that the maintenance of two CSP agents permanently accompanying Ruy Abrunhosa Gonçalves was no longer justified. For 38 consecutive years, the Director General of the Prison Service was under close surveillance by the PSP. This measure was implemented after Gaspar Castelo Branco, who held this position at the time, was shot dead by the terrorist group FP-25 de Abril. Contacted CMThe DGSP stated that it does not publicly deal with issues related to the safety of facilities and people. Private surveillance in prisons
The director of security of the Prison Service, PSP Deputy Superintendent Carlos Lourenço, signed a proposal to remove prison guards from monitoring the institution’s headquarters in the Palácio do Torel in Lisbon, handing it over to a private company. According to the document, CM had access, the lack of protection (by 2030 the number may increase from 4014 to 1776 elements) led to this decision. The Prison Service does not wish to comment.