Police to introduce four new measures for handling domestic violence
Police must put themselves in the victim’s shoes when dealing with incidents of domestic violence, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis has said, as police adopted four additional measures for the management of domestic violence cases.
“The citizens want and should feel safe when they come to us. In any incident of domestic violence, we are obliged to do our best to make women feel safe and make sure that before they leave the police station, that they will continue to be safe,” the minister told over 2,500 police officers in an online meeting.
He underlined that police must follow the procedures on handling domestic violence cases set out in a special handbook that was issued in 2021.
“We treat each victim with empathy and provide them with every support,” was the minister’s message to police officers.
His comments came days after a 28-year-old woman, Kyriaki Griva, was murdered by her former partner outside a police station in northern Athens, in a killing that shocked the country. Police have come under fire for failing to assess the seriousness of the risk she faced when she reported her concerns at the station as Griva was murdered shortly after leaving the station.
Police sources said the force is making four basic additions to the management of domestic violence cases.
First, all complaints and incidents concerning domestic abuse are to be monitored and supervised by an appointed senior officer at police directorate level.
Second, each police directorate is to forward a weekly report outlining the complaints made and their management to the central department for combatting domestic violence at police headquarters in Athens.
Third, duty officers who receive domestic violence complaints are to inform their precinct chief and police directorate supervisor of each case to get support in handling them.
Fourth, police are to offer secure transport and housing in a safe place to each domestic violence victim while a threat to her life exists. To that end, by the end of May a total of 45 new domestic violence offices – which are staffed with officers who solely deal with domestic abuse – will be created and the use of the panic button will be expanded nationwide.
