An updated Memorandum of Cooperation, between the Municipal and Greek Police, was signed today by the Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, and the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, to deal with delinquency, safeguard the orderly economic and commercial activity throughout Athens, but also the more immediate solution to traffic problems.

The two agencies join forces once again and cooperate taking into account the particularities of the security environment in the areas of the Municipality of Athens due to the high concentration of population, the burdened traffic situation, the intense touristic, cultural, economic and sports activity, but also the complex nature of security issues;

They decided, among other things, to re-open the Unified Coordinating Center for Daily Safety Management at the Municipality level with a special immediate intervention plan, in order to effectively deal with delinquency on a daily level through coordinated actions and strategic cooperation to deal with the problems. One of the innovations foreseen in the new Memorandum, to strengthen the sense of security of the citizens of Athens, is the creation of a platform through which any citizen who feels in danger can declare it and immediately there will be an intervention either by the Municipal or the Hellenic Police. At the same time, as announced by the Minister of Citizen Protection, in a few days the recruitment of an additional 300 Special Guards will be announced, who will staff the immediate access and response services at points where required, while as the Mayor of Athens mentioned, the Municipality is proceeding with the recruitment of an additional 180 new municipal police officers.

The four-year collaboration of the two services includes, among other things, actions such as:

Instilling the sense of citizen security and protection for the city of Athens through the conduct of joint patrols on a daily basis with an emphasis on areas with increased tourist traffic and increased delinquency.
Coordination of actions, exchange of information and joint operations of the Hellenic Police and the Municipal Police with the assistance, when deemed necessary, of other co-competent services
Special operational actions to deal with illicit trade, traffic management, dealing with violations of the Code of Conduct. and ensuring free movement, the security and protection of large events and the management of occupied spaces.
Exchange of know-how and best practices between the two bodies.
On the occasion of the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation, the Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis stated:

“Safety is the most valuable commodity. It is the greatest possible offer, the most important political action of a state, a government, a Ministry towards the citizens. We want every citizen of Athens, especially in places that are the most vulnerable precisely because of the high traffic, to feel safe. I believe that day by day we can, with a very close cooperation with the Municipality of Athens, on the occasion of the memorandum of cooperation between the Municipality and the Ministry, give the citizens of this city the opportunity to live safer, to live better, the their children to be happier, to be able to use the spaces that are for common activities, to be able to use sports spaces and everything else that the Municipality provides in this direction, so that Athens really becomes a city with happy people , safe and creative.

For his part, the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas stated:

“Thank you very much, the Minister, for the very fruitful discussion we had and of course I thank all the executives who participated in the Memorandum of Cooperation, which reflects the necessity of cooperation, especially of the Municipal and Greek Police, in order to be able to break the feeling of fear and insecurity in Athens.

We know that the nature of security problems in our city is complex, which makes it necessary to join forces in order to deal effectively with all phenomena of delinquency. So, in this direction, we are very happy to have in our hands an updated Memorandum of Cooperation, which will be signed between the Municipal and Greek Police, which provides for many important things, including joint patrols, coordinated actions within of the Municipality of Athens and a series of other joint activities, which aim to spread the power in difficult neighborhoods and in difficult places and in the cooperation of the Municipal and Greek Police, to be able to better instill a sense of security in every neighborhood of Athens”.