The investigations of the Police for the spy van in Larnaca are done with professionalism and seriousness, said today the Minister of Justice and Public Order, George Savvidis, adding that the results of the investigations will be brought before the Legal Service of the Republic.
For his part, the Chief of Police Cyprus Michailidis stated that the examinations and investigations of the Force for the spy van are at a very good stage, that all aspects and all questions about its operation are being investigated, while he admitted that a member of the company has a firearms license for which all legal procedures were followed.
Satisfaction from the Famagusta Police Department
In his statements after a meeting in ADE Famagusta, in which he attended with the Chief of Police, the Famagusta Police Director, George Economou, and other officials, Mr. Savvidis said that he had "a very detailed and useful information about the activities. I had the opportunity to talk, to set our own priorities, to express to the officers the various issues that we as a government promote and the various problems that we face and try to solve ", he said and added that" I am completely satisfied with what I heard and what I saw ", he pointed out.
On his part, the Chief of Police, Kypros Michailidis, said that "it was a visit during which we were informed about the various issues that concern ADE Famagusta, we saw the actions of ADE and our members, we saw some individual issues and problems that exist , offenses under investigation and statistics. I think we are on a very good path and the effort continues because there is room for improvement. "
Asked whether additional security measures have been taken by the Police in Famagusta, Mr. Michailidis replied that "people know that further measures have been taken, as shown by the statistics of the various crimes that exist, but also the general presence of the Police in various points that are either criminal areas or other areas that appear to have been hotbeds of crime. I believe that we are on a very good path, there is a very close cooperation between the Police Directorates and the other services of the Police and with the Ministry of Justice, with the government and where there are problems we deal with them together ".
At the same time, he expressed the appreciation that "we are really in a very good place that makes us optimistic that we will have even better results.
"The examinations for the spy van are at a good stage"
Asked if he had been informed about the operation of the spy van in Larnaca, the Minister of Justice said that "I want to introduce a different policy regarding the statements. It is an issue to be informed and I have asked to be informed and informed about every serious issue that falls within the competence of my Ministry, but it is another matter whether I will make any statement on this issue ".
I believe, he continued, that "rightly so, the Chief was frugal in his statements and I must be even more frugal in my statements because the operational part belongs entirely to the Police without any right of our intervention or influence. "Especially in matters of interrogation, the competent authority that will evaluate any conclusion of the interrogations is the Legal Service" he said and noted that this is another reason "for which we as a government and as the Ministry of Justice must be very sparing in our statements" .
He added that "I am informed and I am constantly in touch with the authorities and it is an issue that covers different levels, different services and different aspects. There is legislation that regulates every aspect from the least serious to the most serious offenses and I am sure that with the professionalism and seriousness with which the investigations are carried out, both by the Police and the other Services involved, the findings will come to an end. and will be evaluated on the basis of the existing legal framework ".
This framework, he continued, "is quite specific and quite specialized for these very specialized technical issues and the relevant decisions will be taken by the competent body which is the Legal Service".
Asked about the spy van that was confiscated by the Police, Mr. Michailidis said that "the examinations are at a very good stage and at the moment everything is being investigated. "A member of this company has a firearms license, all the legal procedures have been followed," he said, adding that "we are investigating all aspects and all the questions that are asked, even though many of these questions have answers, which we as a service and as a police, we know very well what is happening ".
Asked to indicate whether the Police knew that the van was serving purposes that have been revealed and not meteorological purposes as the company was registered, Kypros Michailidis said that "it is something that we are currently investigating. We do not want to say things at this time that it does not seem to be the case afterwards, but I repeat that all these questions are under the microscope, this is our job and this is what we will do. "
He also said that "the relevant announcements will be made after the examinations are completed and since obviously the case will be taken to the Legal Service so that some instructions may be given by the Legal Service".
Asked to comment on today's post that talks about the cooperation of the Police with the specific spy van in Larnaca, the Commander of the Force said that "I will not answer. I do not want to give more detail to this issue, they are things that are being investigated and if there was any cooperation it is something we see, I do not want to comment further because we are in the investigation stage and I think that if more things are said they will damage its work. ongoing investigation ".
Asked whether national security issues arise for which the Police may not want to make any revelations, Mr. Michailidis replied that "national security issues are not discussed in the air."
Asked about the issue of mobile telephony antennas located in the area of Agios Georgios, near the Central Prison, the Chief said that "this is an issue that does not concern the Police".
For his part, the Minister said that the specific issue does not concern "the Ministry of Justice in its scope, from what I saw in the publications".
From what I understand, he continued, "The Director of Prisons has already stated that the system has not been put into operation, or a system that creates a problem in the area, so the problem must come from elsewhere and the main responsibility on the part of the government has the Ministry of Transport. In any case, I will be informed, but I am sure that the competent Ministry will be placed in due time ", he said.
Original written statement of the Minister of Justice for the visit to the Famagusta Police Department
I visited the Famagusta Police Department today, because I want to know and be informed in person by the members of the Force, both about the problems they are called to manage and their working conditions and because I want to be informed about the operational activities of the Famagusta Police Department.
I am interested and I want to hear the thoughts and suggestions of the members of the Police as a whole. These are the backbone of the House responsible for the security of the citizen, which security will always be our highest priority, and this is exactly what my visit is about: to get feedback on how we can meet the various security challenges. of citizens, on how we can find solutions so that where and where there are issues that can be resolved immediately we can resolve them, to exchange views on the ways in which we can improve both the performance, and the operational work of the Police Body, but also the working conditions of its Members. Hence, my visit today to the Famagusta Police Directorate is the first of the tour that I requested and will make in all the Police Directorates of Cyprus, in November and December for this very reason.
Today, I also informed, among others, the members of the Famagusta Police Directorate about two very important actions that have been launched and concern the first, the reorganization of the Police and the second, the submission to Parliament of the bills for autonomy of the Fire Service. For the first issue, tenders are underway for the purchase of services by specialized companies and we hope that the completion of the reorganization project will be implemented by 2023.
For the autonomy of the Fire Service, the discussion of the bills is expected to start by the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs.
Additionally, I informed and will inform the other Police Directorates about the actions, legislative and non-legislative, which the Government has taken and is taking, in order to provide additional tools to the Police for the prevention and fight against crime.
My aim is to make the members of the Police Corps share the Government's efforts, both to modernize the Corps and to alleviate the problems created mainly by the economic crisis, such as understaffing, and which today can - because the conditions of the economy they can and do allow it as far as possible, of course - to promote in order to normalize situations.
In the matter of understaffing, in addition to the recruitment of 218 new members in the Police and 50 in the Fire Service in 2017, in addition, around the end of 2018 it was agreed with the Minister of Finance the release of a very large number of vacancies: 400 Police and 60 Special Police . The recruitment process of 200 Police Officers, 56 Firefighters and 30 Special Police Officers is currently underway. Another 200 Police Officers and 40 Special Police Officers are expected to be recruited in 2020. At the same time, a decision has been made to create 50 new Police Officers and 20 new Special Police Officers in 2020, which will be fully achieved in 2022.
Another point I want to focus on is the building upgrade of the Police Stations. Especially here in the province of Famagusta, the Police Directorate is housed in a new building.
I leave happy with my meeting at the Famagusta Police Department. It was a very constructive meeting, we exchanged views on serious issues, with priority on the one hand, the security of the citizen and on the other hand, the continuous improvement and modernization of the Police, which is also a pillar of our actions.
Famagusta.News with information from KYPE