Corruption soared in police, civil service in 2012, report finds
Cases of corruption, embezzlement and theft spiked in 2012 in the police and the Greek civil service, a report published on Tuesday by the Greek Police’s special task force against corruption has found.
The report sees a remarkable rise in cases pertaining to police officers and civil servants, especially in local and regional authorities, as well as in healthcare services.
Specifically, the data collected by the anti-corruption force show that in 2012 it investigated a total of 1,060 cases, or 263 more than it did in 2011, marking a 33 percent increase. Of these, 710 (or 66.9 percent) concerned police officers, 260 concerned employees of the broader public sector and 67 were cases brought against individuals.
As far as the public sector is concerned, complaints of corruption by citizens spiked a shocking 94.6 percent in 2012 compared to the previous year, with the majority of the 535 complaints processed concerning employees at local authorities (152) and regional authorities (63).
The report also notes that 20 police officers were arrested in 2012 on charges ranging from physical abuse of a prisoner to theft and embezzlement.
Meanwhile, of the country’s total of 53,980 police officers and border guards in 2012, 876 failed to submit a declaration of provenance of wealth (“pothen esches”), with criminal charges brought against 116 officers who failed to adequately explain the source of their assets.
