The redesign and reorganization of the Municipal Police is being rapidly promoted by the Ministry of the Interior, in cooperation with the agencies involved, in view of the 1,213 new recruitments in 158 municipalities of the country.

The aim of the proposed changes, based on the provisions of Law 5003/2022, is for the Chamber to be the most modern and efficient institution for the orderly operation of every city, by analogy with many countries of the European Union.

A particular innovation is that the recruitments are made for the first time through ASEP procedures, with the results of the relevant announcement expected gradually by educational category from the end of the year to the beginning of the next. The desire of the competent ministry is for the successful candidates to be in their positions from the beginning of the summer in order to be able to offer their services in the summer period when the needs of many municipalities are increased.

A necessary condition for the appointment is the successful completion of the introductory education and training that will take place after the publication of the final lists of successful candidates in the Official Gazette.

In the immediate future, a Joint Ministerial Decision is expected to be issued by the Ministries of the Interior and Citizen Protection, for the organization of introductory education, further education and training of special uniformed personnel.

The planning of the educational programs is done in collaboration with the National Center for Public Administration and Self-Government (EKDDA) and EL.AS, in a “citizen-centric” dimension, with the introduction of programs that respond to modern challenges, such as, for example, principles and good practices for quality service to the citizen, development of administrative skills, problem solving (PROBLEM SOLVING) and decision-making techniques, the new framework for companion animals, etc.

The training will be theoretical and practical for at least six months, of which three months of theoretical training at the EKDDA, two months of practical training at police stations and one month at police schools.

At the same time, municipalities are obliged to ensure the training and regular retraining of municipal police officers throughout their careers.

At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior is preparing to issue, after cooperation with the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), the Operating Regulations of the Municipal Police, which define, in particular, the duties and responsibilities of the positions of the Municipal Police staff, the way of exercising them, the structure of the internal and external service, the conduct guide, the process of control and confirmation of violations, etc.

Responsibilities

With the new regulatory framework, the municipal police officers will be able to carry out the duties of a special investigative officer for criminal acts, but also to make arrests.

Responsibilities are expanded and divided into three sub-categories, depending on the population of the municipality and the number of municipal police personnel.

In first categorywhich concerns all municipalities, is included multitude of responsibilities such as, for example, the control of illegal parking, the removal of abandoned vehicles, the imposition of administrative sanctions on shops or businesses, the delivery of documents, the home attestation of the original signature for people with mobility problems, the elderly or the sick, compliance with anti-smoking legislation , the control of the existence of building permits, but also the support of the work of the relevant Municipality in civil protection measures and actions.

OR second class for medium and large populous municipalities, it concerns compliance with the provisions on outdoor advertising, outdoor trade and street markets.

In third class which concerns large municipalities, includes, among other things, the control of legality in the licensing of health shops, theaters, cinemas, etc., the observance of noise pollution limits and the opening hours of shops,

In addition, by decision of the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Vivis Charalambogianni a specialist will be determined evaluation system of special uniformed personneldue to the special nature of the House’s duties, responsibilities and special hierarchy.

By joint decision of Ministers of the Interior Thodoris Livaniou and Citizen Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis the specifications and type of Municipal Police equipment were determined, which will include a bulletproof vest, handcuffs and gloves.

Another decision determined the matters concerning the special insignia of the municipal police (slightly modified in relation to the current one), the uniform of the staff and the insignia of all ranks of the hierarchy, as well as the type of special identity of the municipal police.

Indeed, with the aim of better coordination and the uniform treatment of the issues concerning the personnel and responsibilities of the Municipal Police, the following were recommended to the Ministry of the Interior:

a) Human Resources Supervision Department of the Municipal Police which is subordinate to the Local Government Personnel Directorate of the General Secretariat of Public Administration and

b) Department of Organization and Operation of Municipal Police which is under the Directorate of Organization and Operation of Local Self-Government of the General Directorate of Decentralization and Local Self-Government of the General Secretariat of Self-Government and Decentralization.