<![CDATA[ Diretor nacional da PJ é ouvido hoje no parlamento sobre criminalidade ]]>

The national director of the Judicial Police (PJ), Luís Neves, will be heard this Wednesday in parliament regarding data on crime in Portugal.

Luís Neves will answer questions from members of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, following a request from the Liberal Initiative, which wants "clarifications on the real state of crime in Portugal".

This hearing was requested after the national director of the PJ said, during the conference on the 160th anniversary of Diário de Notícias that took place last January, that the feeling of insecurity is generated by misinformation and that it is not confirmed.

Regarding arrests, Luís Neves clarified that, currently, the most common crime is simple and qualified theft, followed by domestic violence, rejecting the idea that foreigners are responsible for significant levels of crime.

"In 2009 we had 631 foreigners" in a universe of 400 thousand immigrants and last year, with more than a million foreigners residing in Portugal, the "ratio of detainees is the second lowest" since this type of accounting has been in place, he explained.

Looking at those arrested in Portugal, Luís Neves highlighted that, excluding those from European, African and Latin American countries - who are related to crimes that have nothing to do with immigrants -, the figures are very low.

In Portuguese prisons there are 120 people from Asian countries out of a total of more than 10,000 inmates, he explained.

"Any crime number is a worrying number and it is a number that makes us all think about what are the best models for mitigating" crime, particularly violent crime, he also highlighted.