'Safe Youth' panic button to begin operating on Monday, Chrisochoidis says

The official launch of the "Safe Youth" panic button for young people targeted by violence will take place next Monday, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis announced in an interview with MEGA television on Thursday.

"Safe Youth is a complex and I hope very useful tool, including a great many uses," he added.

Acting in tandem with the 10201 phone line, he said, it was one of the ways given to both children and adults to immediately report a violent incident so that the police can quickly intervene.

The minister also noted that arrests of minors had jumped to 12,000 in the first 10 months of 2024, from 8,600 the previous year and mostly concerned teenagers.

Chrisochoidis also commented on the explosion that occurred in an apartment in Ambelokipi, which has been linked to terrorism, in which one person was killed and another seriously injured. Noting that these were the consequences of "an act that is so abhorrent, so antidemocratic," he said an investigation was underway to determine whether a broader group may have been involved.

He pointed out that 40 families living in the building were currently staying in hotels, waiting for a verdict on whether their homes were safe to return to.

The minister also announced that tougher penalties for weapons possession will soon be introduced, as well as bans on a series of knives, in a bid to reduce violent crime.