The names of the first 50 police officers – out of 100 – to move to Mykonos were made public within a week. Mostly young people were selected, unmarried and not serving on the island in previous years.
The staff of the newly created Police Sub-Directorate of the Greek island of Mykonos continues to work with the Ministry of Citizen Protection in connection with the new tourist season. The same is happening in Santorini, and therefore the presence of EL.AS. (Greek Police) on the island will be greatly strengthened.
In particular, by an order issued a few days ago, more than 100 police officers were transferred to the “island of winds”. The departments of police and traffic, security and administrative support will be staffed, the creation of which is provided for by the corresponding presidential decree signed in November. Police officers from central services have been transferred to Santorini accordingly.
The order is in effect today Monday and the first 50 police officers are expected to move to Mykonos by the end of the week. 10 of them are officers, the rest are ordinary police officers. The former police chief of the capital’s district, Marousi Fotis Celepis, was appointed head of the subdivision. He made significant progress in his activities, when the largest network of smugglers, numbering more than 20 illegal factories and warehouses, was recently dismantled in Attica. The transfer of the first 50 police officers takes place in the form of a three-month business trip, but it is considered certain that their “tenure” in Mykonos will be extended at least until the end of the tourist season.
The decision to significantly increase the presence of the police on the island, as well as in Santorini, with the transformation of police departments into sub-departments, was already announced by the Minister of Citizens’ Protection last year. On the occasion of parties that were organized at the height of the pandemic in rented villas in Mykonos, Mr. Michalis Chrysochoidis visited the island last July and, in a meeting with Mayor Konstantinos Koukas, announced his intention to create a new service, with 120 employees. In fact, a joint group from the Attica Security Service was sent to Mykonos with its intervention, with the duty to oppose the actions of organized groups of robbers, but mainly to limit the secret “crown parties”. There was also a lot of concern about the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus.
Within months of the end of the tourist season, the preparatory measures for the establishment of the sub-office were completed and in mid-November a presidential decree was published in the official gazette to establish a new police service in Mykonos and Santorini, respectively.
The new Police Department envisages that the subdivision will consist of the following three divisions: Line Police, Tourist and Traffic Police, Criminal Police, Aliens and Administrative Support. The first three divisions will deal with police issues such as the implementation of tourism legislation, the implementation of the Traffic Code, the protection of objects of possible criminal activity, etc. The activities of the Security Department will be mainly responsible for drug trafficking, as well as illegal immigration. The Administrative Support Department will finalize internal work issues.
The names of the first 50 police officers to move to Mykonos were made public within a week. Mostly young people who have no family responsibilities were selected, but mostly police officers who did not serve on the island in previous years. “None of those moving this year served in Mykonos last summer,” Civil Protection officials said, wishing to point out that special measures have been taken so that there is no shadow of “suspicious” links between police and local the criminal community.
Tomorrow, the resettlement of the police, headed by the deputy director Fotis Celepis, will begin in Mykonos. An additional 50 police officers are expected to be seconded on probation in the coming weeks, along with a gradual increase in tourist traffic to the island. They will participate in passport checks at the island’s airport along with experienced officers. However, 30 police officers from the island’s standing forces remained on the newly created service.
Despite the recommendation of the sub-directorate, the planning of the leadership of the Ministry of Civil Protection includes the redeployment of the joint security forces of Attica to Mykonos, as it has done in previous years. It will consist of police officers, mainly from the criminal department, and their mission will be to hunt down mainly foreign criminals who are involved in thefts from villas on the island. Something similar will happen to a special group of the Attica Highway Administration, when security officers conduct checks at car rental companies and so on.
Finally, there are plans to create a new police headquarters on the island. Placement work is already underway, and the delivery of cameras to be located in various parts of the island is nearing completion. The work of the new police department will concern not only traffic, but also the fight against crime. Some of the costs were covered by private donations. Also, at the disposal of the police, mopeds (following the example of Athens) and drones will arrive.
Similar initiatives have been taken in Santorini, while reinforcement – in the summer months – by personnel from Paros and Rhodes is being studied. On April 16, the Minister of Civil Protection visited Paros and met with representatives of the local government. He promised to immediately increase the security of the island.
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