The General Directorate of Security ( pt, Direção-Geral de Segurança; DGS) was a Portuguese criminal police body active between 1969 and 1974, during the last years of the
Estado Novo dictatorship.
Although their duties included, in addition to state security, the supervision of foreigners, border control, and the fight against illegal trafficking of migrants, historically the DGS was essentially a
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of ...
responsible for repression, without judicial control, of all forms of political opposition to the Estado Novo.
The DGS was created in 1969 to succeed to the
International and State Defense Police (PIDE), by Decree-Law no. 49 401, of November 24, 1969, of the government of
Marcello Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano (; 17 August 1906 – 26 October 1980) was a Portuguese politician and scholar. He was the second and last leader of the Estado Novo after succeeding António Salazar. He served as prime minister from 196 ...
.
[Darren Palmer, Michael M. Berlin, Dilip K. Das (2012); ]
Global Environment of Policing
', page. 88 It was disbanded in the continent and islands in 1974, following the
Revolution of April 25 that ended the Estado Novo, by Decree-Law no. 171/74 of April 25. In overseas territories it continued to exist until 1975, under the designation of "Military Intelligence Police".
Organisation
In 1974, the General Directorate of Security was organized as follows:
*Directorate
**Director-General
**Subdirector-General
**Inspector-Supervisors
*Superior Technical Council
*Board of the Director-General
*Board of Administrators
*1st Directorate (Directorate of Information Services)
**Information and Counter-Information Division
**Telecommunications Division
**File Section
*2nd Directorate (Directorate for Investigation and Litigation Services)
**Division of Investigation
**Technical Divisions (identification services)
**Prison Section
**Litigation (including Legal Consultancy)
**National Office of Interpol
*3rd Directorate (Directorate of Foreigners and Borders Services)
**Division of Foreigners
**Border Division
*4th Directorate (Directorate of Administrative Services)
**Division of Personnel
**Division of General Services
**Accounting Section
**Treasury Section
**General Archive
**Secretariat of Defense of War Facilities and Material
*Technical School
*Delegations (Luanda, Lourenço Marques, Coimbra and Porto)
*Subdelegations
*Surveillance Posts
*Border posts
References
{{reflist
External links
PIDE Documentation of PIDE/DGS in the National Archive(in Portuguese)
Portuguese intelligence agencies
National security institutions
PIDE
The International and State Defense Police ( pt, Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado; PIDE) was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the '' Estado Novo'' regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of th ...
Defunct law enforcement agencies of Portugal
Estado Novo (Portugal)
1969 establishments in Portugal
1974 disestablishments in Portugal