Ministry to send police back to street beat
The government acknowledged police complaints yesterday about the number of officers tied up in duties which have little to do with community safety, but said it was trying to change this. A Public Order Ministry source told Kathimerini that one of the steps taken concerns police assigned to protect VIPs. About a month and a half ago, the government agreed to set up a committee to prepare independent criteria judging when a VIP should be protected, the source said. The ministry official was responding to a report published in Wednesday’s Kathimerini noting that the Panhellenic Police Officers’ Association (POAXIA) is complaining about the number of police on patrol. The ministry, the source added, intends to pass off some of its duties to other bodies, such as municipality police, as a means of freeing up law enforcers.
