Young detainees in Cyprus will be held in modern modular units on an empty plot beside Central Prisons, under a revised plan that abandons the original proposal for Menoyia. Justice and Public Order Minister Kostas Fitiris said on Monday the units should be ready by October 2027, meaning a new extension will be needed as the current deadline expires at the end of 2026.
The minister made the announcement while presenting his Ministry’s budget to the Parliamentary Finance Committee, CNA reported.
From Menoyia to Central Prisons
Responding to questions from Disy MP and Legal Affairs Committee chair Fotini Tsiridou and Akel MP Andreas Pasiourtides, who said the juvenile facility had been pending since 2021, Fitiris said the original decision to create a space in Menoyia had changed.
Menoyia will instead become a central police detention facility, to ease pressure on police stations. The minister estimated it would begin operating before the end of the year, as repair work is already under way.
The temporary solution for juvenile detention is to install modular units beside Central Prisons, with the possibility of moving them later. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Fitiris said a new extension would have to be requested, since the deadline for implementing the juvenile facility was the end of 2026.
Overcrowding in police detention
According to the minister, the number of juvenile detainees ranges from 10 to 30, while occupancy in police detention facilities stands at 180%.
He said that in some cases a person arrested in Ayia Napa has to be held in a Paphos detention facility and then brought back to appear before the Famagusta District Court, placing an additional burden on police work.
The minister did not answer Akel MP Argentoula Ioannou’s question about whether methods of rehabilitating minors beyond detention had been examined. Asked by Elam MPs whether overcrowding had led to fewer arrests, both Fitiris and Chief of Police Themistos Arnaoutis answered in the negative.
The 2027 budget in figures
The Ministry’s budget for 2027 amounts to €575 million, a 4% increase on last year:
- regular expenditure: €94 million
- development expenditure: €26 million
- payroll: €454 million, or 79% of the budget
“The mission of the Ministry is to provide security and serve justice for the benefit of citizens,” Fitiris said, highlighting the Ministry’s social contribution, which he noted is not reflected in financial terms.
Crime and drug enforcement data
The minister said the crime picture had improved in 2026. By mid-year:
- two murders had been recorded, compared with 13 in 2025
- 11 attempted murders had been recorded, compared with 26 the previous year
Statistics for other crimes were slightly lower than the corresponding figures last year, he said.
By 30 September, the Drug Law Enforcement Unit (YKAN) had recorded 898 cases involving 949 people. Seizures included 358 kilogrammes of cannabis and 417 kilogrammes of ketamine. The chair of the Finance Committee and Diko MP congratulated YKAN on its successes.
Security at Vasiliko
Fitiris described the Vasiliko energy centre as the state’s most critical infrastructure. Police had assessed that it needs a comprehensive security system covering land, sea and air, at a total cost of €4.2 million.
Migration and police vacancies
By 22 October 2026, according to the minister, there had been:
- 2,118 arrests for illegal stay
- 1,991 deportations
- 5,072 voluntary returns
- 1,418 irregular arrivals
- 990 refusals of entry at airports
Answering a question from Committee chair Christiana Erotokritou, he said there were 642 vacancies in the Police, expected to be filled within four to six months.
Coast guard bill and Fire Service
On the Fire Service, the minister referred to strengthening operational capacity and prevention.
Asked by Disy MP Charalambos Petrides about establishing a coast guard, Fitiris said maritime activities needed to be coordinated from the coastline to the Exclusive Economic Zone. The coast guard would be responsible for migration issues, terrorist acts and pollution.
The bill is with the Legal Service, and legal vetting is expected to be completed in early November. According to the minister, a very large part of its funding is expected to come from European funds.
Gender-based violence platform
The “red flag” platform will be ready by the end of January, Fitiris said. All state services will be able to provide information through it, allowing potential victims or perpetrators to be identified in time.
The minister on crime
After the meeting, Fitiris said: “Crime will not cease to exist. The aim is to combat it to such an extent that it does not affect citizens’ daily lives. To limit its capabilities, so that the ordinary citizen does not perceive it.”
He added, “We are not glossing over the situation,” and said the Organised Crime Directorate had been set up and was already recording successes.
New prison at Agios Sozomenos
The main objective, according to the minister, is to build a new correctional facility in Agios Sozomenos with a capacity of 1,500 people. Studies by the competent services are expected to be completed before a final decision is made. The master plan will then be presented to municipalities in the area so that “a golden mean can be found”.
The 2027 budget includes €1 million for studies and preliminary work.
Responding to Tsiridou, who noted that the Ministry’s development expenditure had fallen by 5% compared with last year, Fitiris said the decrease was due to the suspension of construction of a new prison wing, following the decision to build a new facility.
Asked by Tsiridou and Direct Democracy MP Giannis Laouris about the timetable, he estimated the new prison would take four to five years, with work expected to begin by the end of 2027.
Prison staffing, phones and drones
The minister listed a series of prison reforms and spoke of the difficulty of recruiting prison guards: only 35 of the 90 advertised positions had been filled. Recruitment will also be opened to European citizens, he said.
On mobile phones in prisons, Fitiris said the question was how phones were getting in, and stressed the need to strengthen security at all entrances. Signal blocking is being implemented gradually, with antennas installed in each wing, and is expected to be completed in all wings in the first quarter of 2027.
The anti-drone system has been completed, and drones attempting to smuggle illegal items into the prisons have been detected.
Answering Elam MP Linos Hadjigeorgiou, the minister said the proportion of foreign nationals in prisons was around 60%. In response to Laouris, he said the prisons’ annual budget was €47 million and that he would return with the cost per inmate.
Surveillance legislation
Erotokritou said that “my country is the only one that does not have legislation on surveillance” and asked whether the government would reintroduce a bill.
Fitiris replied that this was a Ministry priority, since “without it we will constantly be one step behind organised crime”.
Delays in justice
MPs Fotini Tsiridou, Andreas Pasiourtides, Argentoula Ioannou, Marios Pelekanos, Christiana Erotokritou, Michalis Paraskevas and Diana Constantinidou highlighted the “tragic situation” of justice in Cyprus, pointing to major delays, particularly at first instance, and delays in implementing decisions.
The minister said he would respond later, noting that many of the problems concerned the judiciary. He added that the Ministry was ready to support efforts to reduce the time taken to process court cases “with whatever the judiciary asks of us”.
Maccabi matches and attacks on delivery workers
Asked by Tsiridou and Akel MP Giorgos Koukoumas about the decision to hold Maccabi matches in Limassol, the minister said no match had yet been decided on. He said the party requesting police security would bear the cost and the team would be sent an invoice.
Responding to Ioannou on attacks on delivery workers, Fitiris said a meeting had been held with platform companies. They had been advised to provide delivery workers with a GPS watch and a red button so incidents could be located immediately, and not to make deliveries to parks or dangerous, poorly lit locations.
Arnaoutis said most cases had been solved and involved robberies. Several Cypriots and foreign nationals had taken part in the attacks, he said, and arrests had been made.
MPs’ comments
Tsiridou said faster justice, effective action against crime and strengthening the rule of law were firm priorities for Disy. She said the modernisation, development and better use of the Police’s human resources remained pending, referring to staff shortages. “We want a greater police presence on the streets. Youth delinquency is at increased and heightened levels. The drug problem, particularly among minors, is at tragic levels, so a major reorganisation is needed,” she said.
Pasiourtides said people still did not feel safe and that a sense of impunity was widespread. Referring to continuing problems in the administration of justice, he said “fewer and fewer citizens are turning to the courts” because of the major delays. He described this year’s budget as “managerial once again”, saying resources for public investment were limited and many issues had remained stagnant for years. “There are shortcomings in properly prioritising issues, in the resources allocated and in political will,” he said.
Elam MP Marios Pelekanos said the party was awaiting a written response from the minister on people remaining in the country without ever having applied for protection status. He said Elam had also requested information on the Ministry’s actions on drugs in schools. On surveillance, he said: “We are glad that the Minister referred to the issue and said he would reintroduce the bill to Parliament in the coming period,” adding that it was imperative for the state to always be one step ahead of organised crime.
Alma Movement leader Odysseas Michaelides asked the minister “when will you abandon your position” on changing the model at the Audit Office, since, he said, the proposal had been ruled unconstitutional. Alma Movement MP Eirini Charalambidou asked about the government bill on the investigative powers of the Anti-Corruption Authority, and sought the Ministry’s position on establishing an independent authority to oversee implementation of ECHR decisions. Fitiris said he would respond in writing.
Laouris said Direct Democracy’s positions on justice concerned modernisation, less bureaucracy, more policing, accountability, effective oversight of the Police, transparency and citizens’ participation in the safety of their communities. Asked whether the Police had proceeded with the confiscation of illegally acquired assets, the minister answered yes. Laouris also asked how many complaints of police corruption had been filed in the past three years and how many fines issued through the traffic camera system remained unpaid.
Source: CNA
