The Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, addressed the planning for tackling lawlessness and crime in Thessaloniki during the Thessaloniki Projects Presentation event at the Concert Hall, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as the keynote speaker. Minister Chrysochoidis praised the work of police services in Thessaloniki, emphasizing that “this is the result of very important, serious, planned work carried out by the worthy officers and personnel of the Hellenic Police.”
“I want to invite you to continue this effort all together, every day, so that more and more citizens of Thessaloniki feel completely safe from end to end, from Nea Michaniona to Zakliveri, to Lagadas and from Chalkidona to western Thessaloniki. Thousands of police officers daily, the Crime Prevention and Suppression Teams that have strengthened police forces, are present in every corner of the city,” said Chrysochoidis, while also addressing the traffic police issue and their contribution to managing traffic flow at the Flyover.
“We managed to turn the problem into a success. Transit through the city has been accelerated by approximately 13-25 minutes. Let’s take a route through Egnatia or Tsimiski or the coastal road. This is also the result of a great effort by police forces in cooperation with the Municipality of Thessaloniki, and we really need to maintain this in combination, of course, with the operation of the metro.”
Chrysochoidis: 800 arrests of male abusers in domestic violence cases
The third issue Minister Chrysochoidis addressed was the establishment of the Organized Crime Combat Directorate.
“In Thessaloniki, a branch of the central Organized Crime Combat Directorate operates with 250 personnel. In the last eight months, 380 arrests of criminal groups have been made, and this has also contributed to legality and restoring the sense of security,” he said.
Regarding sports violence, Chrysochoidis noted that last year ended with “zero” incidents, which he attributed to “the legislation passed by parliament, the government, the sports ministry – a series of regulations, mainly the issue of fan identification for those entering stadiums, the CCTV system, and ultimately strict enforcement of the legislation. This led to this result, and this is also a success of how policy can change things from such a negative situation as it was, including murders of young children in the context of sports violence.”
The Minister of Citizen Protection also mentioned 800 arrests of male abusers in domestic violence cases and the operation of three offices established in Thessaloniki.
“They do amazing work on a 24-hour basis, saving lives. They have provided panic buttons to hundreds of women, they shelter women, children, parents – victims of violence for hours, and this really constitutes important social work for the Greek police,” Chrysochoidis emphasized.
Finally, the minister referred to the now non-existent occupations at Thessaloniki universities.
“Today at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, at the University of Macedonia, throughout Northern Greece, there is not a single occupation in university premises anymore. All spaces are free and available for knowledge, teaching, and other activities related to the university,” the minister concluded.
