More than 4,000 PSP police agents are unhappy with where they are stationed and have put in for transfers.
Lisbon is one of the areas where they least like to work, while Porto is one of the favourites.
But the worst of the situations are that transfer requests can take 10 years or even more to go through.
An investigation by national tabloid Correio da Manhã has shown that in the interior (Bragança, Viseu, Castelo Branco, Évora and Beja) some agents have had to wait 20 years to receive desired transfers.
The bottom line, writes CM, is that 20% of the national urban police force is dissatisfied with its lot.
Those in higher ranks appear to be happier, with transfer requests lower among chiefs than among agents.
While the majority of policemen and women are asking to leave the Greater Lisbon area, CM claims only 10 have put requests in for transfer to the capital.
The situation is very similar with the GNR police force, which also has around 4,000 operatives.
Transfer requests can be put in the moment a police agent starts work, writes CM. Indeed, they almost all are.
Peixoto Rodrigues, the president of the PSP’s syndicate, says he hopes transfers will become easier with the current drive to encourage early retirement.
“With early retirement, stations will need to recruit and this will help rejuvenise the force and facilitate transfers,” he said.
