“The government will not accept a regime of arbitrariness in Mykonos,” the Minister of Citizen Protection said to SKAI and the show Today Notis Mitarakis. Mr. Mitarakis stated that citizens will be able to obtain the new police ID cards from the Monday after the TIF (September 18), and announced a response to the “impunity of petty crime”, as well as a redesign of the role of ELAS in everything regarding the guarding of the universities, saying that “ELAS will not be the gatekeeper”.

Mykonos: Arbitraries are reversed since winter

The Minister of Citizen Protection stated that the mayor of Mykonos will have a meeting on Thursday. “ELAS has a Police Department in Mykonos with 30 police officers. Last year we sent 84 extra in the summer, this year we have sent 130, we have sent specialized officers from both the financial police and the extortion department and the traffic police presence has already been upgraded before I took over,” he explained.

“The government has made it clear that it will not accept the continuation of a regime of arbitrariness, which is beyond any doubt that it existed in Mykonos. I have the impression that the exaggeration made in Mykonos, beyond the carrying capacity of the island, will ultimately harm the Mykonos entrepreneurs themselves, because there are other destinations that are fresher with less burden, and they will win from the tourism pie” emphasized Mr. Mitarakis.

He noted that the immediate goal is to end the summer season without any problems, from then on ELAS, with the orders of the prosecutor and the orders of the relevant ministers, in the winter season will play a catalytic role to reverse the abuses that occurred in previous years . “The prime minister is clear, and it is one of the issues he has raised with us, that he will not allow this climate of impunity to continue.”

From September 18, the new IDs

Regarding the new IDs, the Minister stated that the goal is to present them at the ELAS stand at the TIF, and from Monday after the opening of the TIF to be available in all Police Departments. “The procurement of the machines and the necessary card has been completed, as well as the legislative process, we have resolved some issues with the Ministry of Digital Policy,” he clarified.

At the Police Station there will be special computers, they will receive a biometric and digital signature on the tablet, the identity card will not be issued at each Police Station, after a few days it will go to the same system for issuing passports, it will be issued centrally, it will be sent back with the same safe transfer process for passports, and will be sent to ATs. “The goal is to unify in the coming years the identity and passport process with a validity period of ten years for both, with an application and a fee of 10 euros for the general population and 5 euros for those with many children.

“Identities do not have geolocation systems, they have the same system as a credit or debit card that you have in your wallet, it has a chip that is used in special machines for identification” clarified the minister.

To address “petty crime impunity”

On the occasion of the incidents in Veikou, Mr. Mitarakis commented that ELAS is trying to avoid generalized violence, a very aggressive movement with hundreds of police officers. “We could have had a lot of injuries, we avoided it, we controlled the perimeter so it didn’t escape,” he explained.

Regarding the justice system, he stated that he communicates daily with the Minister of Justice, Mr. Floridis, and it has become a priority. “There is an issue of impunity in Greece for petty crime, that is, there is virtually no punishment for someone who is charged with a minor crime, goes to regular trial, this regular trial is after many years, the sentences are suspended, so finally to be punished for a small offence, one must accumulate too many in a row.”

The idea, the minister emphasized, is to reduce the possibility of suspensions, in many countries the suspension concerns a part of the sentence, that is, you can be punished with 24 months in prison and out of the 24 you have to serve two and 22 are suspended… or with a wristband or social work, which requires cooperation with municipalities which has not worked in the past, faster processes in justice, and there is talk of lighter forms of penitentiaries for much lesser offences. “The goal is that there is no feeling of impunity for the little ones (…) the little ones create the basis for the big ones” he underlined.

Traffic – Changes to issuing fines – Police cameras

He added that the traffic police remain on the streets and that illegal parking is the responsibility of the traffic police, but also of the municipal police. “The goal is from September 1 to start a more visible traffic process, especially in the big cities, and also to equip, hopefully in 2023, with electronic tablet recording systems so that the administrative fine does not come by post after 15 years, but to enter directly after the expiry of the deadline for objections to Taxis”.

“Also running a competition for cameras on the patrol cars and uniforms of the police officers who had stopped at the Court of Auditors. The aim of the police camera is to protect both the citizen from police arbitrariness, and the police officer with respect for personal data,” said the Minister of Protection.

HEI: “ELAS will not be the gatekeeper”

Regarding the security of the universities, he announced that the process will be redesigned. “ELAS must play a more auxiliary role in the security of universities, universities must also come forward. We may not need the presence in the form we originally planned, the design changes. We will come out with a new design.” Our priority, stressed Mr. Mitarakis, is the protection of the real freedom of HEIs. “ELAS will enter (universities), when it has to enter, ELAS will not enter to act as a gatekeeper” he clarified.