Polícia Judiciária
Published 8 November 2026, 22:23
Polícia Judiciária (PJ, criminal police)
The criminal police. It handles serious and complex crimes: murder, large-scale fraud, corruption, drugs, human trafficking, organised schemes involving foreign labour. It works under the direction of the public prosecutor's office: it does not open its own investigations or bring charges.
Where you come across it. News about investigations; a case handed over by the PSP or GNR when the crime is serious.
You report a crime to the PSP (in towns) or the GNR (outside towns), not to the PJ, and the case is passed on from there automatically. There is no point going to the PJ directly.
Official website: policiajudiciaria.pt