Municipal police set to hit Athens streets again on Monday
The Athens Municipal Police, disbanded in the summer of 2013 due to cost-cutting measures, will be back out on the streets of the capital with their citation books from Monday after the force’s reinstatement.
Since its disbandment fines collected by the city from illegal parking dropped from around 13 million euros in 2011 to 6 million euros last year, according to Deputy Mayor Antonis Kafetzopoulos.
The absence of the force has been obvious in day-to-day life as illegal parking has become rampant in most parts of the city center. In one extreme example of indifference to the rules, an Athens shopkeeper has run up a 1-million-euro tab in unpaid parking fines.
