New minister wants to boost police patrols

New Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis, in his fifth stint at the ministry overseeing the security forces since 1999, has his work cut out for him as he tries to overhaul the Hellenic Police.

The top priority is getting more officers out in the streets. Whether crime overall is on the rise is debatable, but well-publicized violent incidents have made citizens feel insecure and this shows clearly in opinion polls. As Kathimerini had revealed recently, the number of patrols, both by patrol cars and the DIAS motorbike patrol unit, is at an all-time law. In the southeast Attica sector, ranging from inner suburbs to Cape Sounio, a distance of well over 50 kilometers, only three DIAS patrols have been assigned. Areas with higher-than-average crime incidents, such as western Attica, are similarly understaffed, with local precincts especially depleted.

Chrisochoidis, who was sworn in on January 4, is said to be preparing plans to boost the numbers of traffic police, patrolling officers and precincts both in western Attica and the center of Athens. He has already more than doubled the number of police at the emergency call center, moving them from desk jobs. Another priority is to continue assigning police officers away from VIP protection to local precincts and patrols. His predecessor, Giannis Oikonomou, had reassigned 600 officers from VIP protection since September and Chrisochoidis plans to initially move another 1,000.

There are also cases of officers who had been detached or moved to other areas where they are no longer needed. At the height of the migrant crisis, 200 officers had been sent from the Athens area to the island of Lesvos. The notoriously overcrowded Moria camp has long been shut down and border guards have moved in to help curb illegal migration. The 200 officers are still there.