Police presented with first code of ethics
In what it described as a bid to boost «mutual respect and trust» between the police and members of the public, the Public Order Ministry yesterday unveiled a code of ethics for members of the force, which is soon to become law in the form of a presidential decree. Copies of the six-page code have been sent to the state Ombudsman, the national human rights committee, the Greek branch of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and police unions. The document exhorts officers to «implement the law with social sensitivity» and «only resort to violence when absolutely necessary.» It adds that members of the force «do not cause or allow acts of torture, inhuman or humiliating treatment or punishment.» A report by the Ombudsman last month said very few citizens’ complaints regarding alleged police violence or abuse of power are satisfactorily investigated by the force.
