Police Chief Themistos Arnaoutis outlined his vision on Tuesday to shed the police force’s colonial remnants and transform it into a modern European force that responds effectively to citizens’ needs.
The goal, said Arnaoutis, is for the police to operate as a modern, flexible European police force, with a focus on enhancing the security of citizens. In this context, a modern policing model needs to be created, as the existing one still has elements of policing during the island’s colonial rule.
‘Not the best’
He referred to plans to create a modern coordination centre, noting that citizens expect the police to respond to their calls. “In this context, it seems that we are not the best,” he acknowledged.
Arnaoutis explained the centre will be able to receive and manage complaints or emergency calls made to 112.
Directorate to fight organised crime
The police chief said a Directorate will be set up to deal with organised crime, at the same time noting that “it cannot disappear”. The new Directorate will embrace the standards of corresponding services and departments in other countries and institutions, namely Greece, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), and the USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Arnaoutis said high-ranking Europol executives will visit Cyprus to discuss strategic and operational analysis matters, adding that special emphasis will be given to the development of mechanisms for the timely and effective handling of cyberattacks.
Operational capacity
Regarding a more rational management of police working hours, the police chief said the effort will be to better utilize human resources. He noted that in 2019, police working hours for those doing office work were reduced from 40 hours to 37.5.
Based on Finance Ministry observations, Arnaoutis said if all police force members worked regular hours, avoiding the accumulation of overtime, the force could ensure the presence of more police officers daily and the force’s operational capacity would be strengthened.
He noted that all vacant positions have been filled, with the force now numbering over 5,000 members.
Source: CNA