“The Police are there for every need, offering valuable services” emphasizes, among others, the Minister of Citizen Protection, Yiannis Oikonomou, in his article entitled “Where is the Police?“, published today in the newspaper “Kathimerini tis Kyriakis”.

Mr. Economou points out that “the Police has an unlimited field of work, but unfortunately limited powers, like every institution of the state” and for this reason they are, by order of the Prime Minister, in the phase of returning to the field 2,500 police officers.

As the minister emphasizes, already in the Traffic Department, the personnel who are in the field during peak hours has more than doubled, adding that the structural solution to the traffic problem cannot be solved in terms of traffic law.

At the same time, he responds to the criticism leveled at the Police for its effectiveness, noting that the official statistics do not justify the “newly indignant people who attack the Police”.

Mr. Economou’s article in detail:

“The question ‘where are the Police’ is heard both by unprejudiced people, who have a genuine interest in order and law and order, and by prejudiced people, who subtly criticize the Police for serving ulterior purposes.

And yet, the answer to the question is easy: the Police are everywhere. And it is everywhere because there is almost no social activity in which it is not involved. The Police are there, even when you can’t see them. It is there, even when no one is looking for it, as the peace and order are due to its preventive and deterrent work. The Police are there for every need, offering valuable services.

The Police has an unlimited field of work, but unfortunately limited powers, like any institution of the state. And for this, by order of the Prime Minister, 2,500 police officers are in the phase of returning to the frontline of the need (already more than 1,500 and the rest on the job). In Traffic, we have more than doubled the number of staff in the field during peak hours, now reaching around 100 people.

At the same time, as part of the new holistic security plan, we are redeploying our forces, reorganizing the policing model and developing a network of cameras to facilitate and strengthen the work of the Police at all levels. Indicatively, in a period of just 100 days, the confirmation of violations increased to a double-digit rate, exceeding 100,000 per month, as a result of intensive controls in each sector.

This is for the open-minded. But some points need to be clarified in response to the biased.

It is obvious that we are still paying for the problems and inefficiencies created or magnified by the memory crisis. For a decade, due to budget constraints, we did not invest, as a state, in the expansion and modernization of basic transport infrastructure, as well as the expansion and modernization of MMMs. At the same time, the population of Attica is constantly increasing due to urbanization and tourism. The result is that cars no longer fit on the roads. The Police do not build roads, do not widen roads, do not carry out transport work. Every day the Traffic is called upon to manage the impossible: to fit more and more cars on roads built to 20th century specifications. The structural solution to the problem cannot be given in traffic terms. The obsessive criticism of the police by some is unfair, insofar as it does not target the root of the problems. Our Government, with the economic progress it is achieving as an ally, is launching new major road projects and is proceeding with drastic reinforcement of the MMM. But these measures, to be effective, need time.

It is also a fact that there is a widespread culture of lawlessness and delinquency, which was fueled mainly by ideological springs and social problems that grew in the decade of the memos. The Police is called upon to manage the last stage, what this culture produces. And she goes beyond herself to respond. Whoever claims that the radical solution will come from the Police is blind. Instead, deep social and educational interventions are needed. The Police is obviously the last and not the best solution when offenders are 11 or 14 years old. Unfortunately, we are not an exception – and we could not be – to what is happening in the Western world, but we are no worse off than most Western countries.

Finally, I note with concern that some neo-indignants are lashing out at the Police, questioning their effectiveness, even though the official statistics do not justify their criticism. They do not understand that the Police must be effective within the framework defined by the laws and the Justice. The police can’t do whatever they want, or whatever anyone imagines. The Police is not and does not act like a gang or a militia. In democracy, not only the purpose and the result are important, but above all the means, so that we do not destroy our State”.