Citizen Protection minister: Focus on juvenile delinquency, more street patrols

The plan for juvenile delinquency, which shows a spike among school-age children in recent years, includes three actions: the maping out of areas where repeated violent acts are recorded, in order to find out the causes in the specific areas; increasing patrols in those areas, while increasing front-line forces and boosting the juvenile services in Security units; and collaboration with municipalities and other relevant agents, social services, scientists, and police psychologists to analyse the phenomenon and establish the foundations for a comprehensive approach.

As an associate of the minister told Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), "Juvenile delinquency is at the top of the minister's priorities, as we are speaking of children, and it is wrong to deal with it as we do with common and organized crime, and it is not solely a police issue." He added that relevant services have been tasked with presenting a comprehensive way of managing it shortly.

In addition, the minister ordered the return to their main jobs of all police officers who have been seconded to other areas (first responders, DIAS motorcycle unit, and traffic police). Ministry sources said that already half of the DIAS unit secondments - nearly 500 police officers - had been recalled from other services including guarding individuals and dispatched to rural areas.

Among the ministry's priorities is doubling motorcycle patrols (DIAS) in the majority of Athens neighborhoods, and by Friday 100 of the first batch of recalled officers had returned to patrols.

In addition, nearly 80% of those who had been trained to answer emergency calls during Chrysssochoidis' last term at the ministry (July 2019-August 2021) but served elsewhere had been recalled to Athens police headquarters as well.

The recalls also mean that more officers will be available for the domestic violence units that had been set up at police departments by Chryssochoidis in the past. The Directorate of Managing Domestic Violence Incidents had set up the first such unit at the western Athens suburb of Peristeri, the ministry sources said.

In addition, the minister will also focus on dangerous and aggressive driving leading to serious accidents, and parking violations that affect pedestrians or block traffic, including buses.

Additional plans include upgrading police and security departments, ministry sources told ANA-MPA, but first evaluations are being sped up. These will lead to promotions, and new officers will apply these upgrading decisions in departments, particularly in Attica Region and in Thessaloniki. According to Chryssochoidis, in statements made when he assumed his portfolio the first week of January, "The reforms planned three years ago were designed and will be updated and implemented. [...] We are behind in our mission, and must run to catch up."