The Polícia Civil was founded on 2 July 1867, during the reign of Luís I of Portugal and changed its name to Polícia Cívica (Civic Police) in 1910.
On 2 December, the Judiciary Police was supposed to conduct a search at Pinto da Costa's home, but the Chairman of F.C. Porto had allegedly been previously informed by a source in the Judiciary Police, clearing the site beforehand.