Loulé Council has announced that a CCTV surveillance system is due to be set up at the prized Vilamoura Marina.
The announcement came following the signing of a protocol between the local council and GNR police on Saturday.
The cameras will be installed at the marina’s public areas as well as the roads leading to the marina, such as Avenida Cerro da Vila, Avenida Engenheiro João Meireles, Avenida da Marina, Avenida Tivoli, Rua do Clube Náutico, Rua do Sol, Estrada de Quarteira, Largo do Cinema and Rua das Estrelas.
As the council explained in a statement to the press, these are areas that attract “large numbers of people, especially many tourists who visit Vilamoura throughout the year, and as such are more prone to situations that put their safety at risk.”
The system will be “managed exclusively” by GNR police and will feature 42 cameras and over 50 information gathering sensors. The monitoring station will be located at the GNR station in Vilamoura, although the images will also be accessible at the police force’s regional command in Faro.
The project will cost the council’s coffers around €900,000.
“If all goes well in terms of the public tender, (the system) is expected to be launched in the summer of 2024,” said Loulé mayor Vítor Aleixo, who has guaranteed that citizens’ privacy will not be jeopardised.
“Data protection and anonymisation are guaranteed,” he said, admitting that he was hesitant at first to implement such a system.
However, the struggles to increase the number of GNR agents in the area and the “good examples” set by the CCTV systems implemented in Portimão and Olhão are said to have convinced the mayor to change his mind.
“We hope that everything will go well and that it will be an asset to prevent and reduce crime,” said Aleixo, adding that safety is paramount in a touristic region such as the Algarve.
Faro GNR’s lieutenant colonel, Carlos de Almeida, believes the system will help “optimise the available resources” and is an “important complementary mechanism of police activity.”
“This protocol will strengthen the existing excellent relationship between GNR and Loulé council in the search for more and better solutions to keep the borough as a space of safety and tranquillity and establish itself even more as a frontline municipality,” Carlos de Almeida added.
The project’s second phase will involve extending the CCTV system to the town of Quarteira.
