Decisions on measures aimed at strengthening citizens' sense of security, including an increase in patrols with uniformed police officers but also with a political environment and communication through social media with the residents, were taken today by the Mayor of Larnaca and the Police Director of the city, after the successive thefts and robberies from houses, especially in the Drosia area.
In statements after the meeting, which took place at the City Hall, the Mayor of Larnaca, Andreas Vyras, said, referring to the recent incidents of thefts from houses, that "the Police informed us that in the last months they have made eight arrests related to burglaries not only in the area of Drosia, but also more broadly of Larnaca. It has also been reported to us that with the increased measures that have been taken in the last few days, there has not been any complaint about burglary".
At today's meeting, he continued, "it was decided that next Wednesday, January 15, the Police and the Municipality will hold an open meeting with the residents of Drosia at the Primary School at 4 pm and we will invite all the residents of the area to hear first hand the actions of the Police, but they also express their opinions and complaints themselves. Also, we have jointly decided with the Police Director to increase patrols, both uniformed and plainclothes, with the aim of identifying and arresting any suspects or offenders."
Regarding the police officers in suits, the Mayor explained that "they will patrol in a way so that they are not noticed and manage to do their job better. Also, it was decided that police officers will join the various social media groups that the residents have, so that they are immediately informed of any information and suspicious movements, with the aim of having a more immediate reaction from the Police."
At the same time, he noted "all the posts will be checked by the Police, who are responsible for doing this check and not for the residents to put their safety at risk. The residents, in my opinion, badly replace the role of the Police, since above all it is our safety," he said.
A third measure decided upon, said Mr. Vyras is "to put more emphasis on the institution of the neighborhood observer. There is a large network of neighborhood watchers in the Municipality of Larnaca and it has been decided to send an sms to them with some new instructions on how to contact the Police, thus increasing the network of people who will observe any suspicious movements for burglaries" .
He also explained that "this sms will be sent today to about 3-4 thousand neighborhood watchers we have in Larnaca. There will also be a redesign of community policing in the area, that is, it will be considered by the Police if it is possible to divide the specific area into more parts, with more neighborhood watchers to have a more daily contact with the residents of the area."
The Mayor of Larnaca also reiterated that "the Police will try to contact some residents of the area, to increase the feeling of security and to collect as much information as is needed in order to solve or reduce this problem".
He said, finally, that today's meeting was "one of the tactics we have with the Police Director. Since the day he assumed his duties, we have had a meeting almost every month to review the city's security issues."
For his part, Larnaca Police Director Charalambos Zachariou characterized the cooperation with the Municipality of Larnaca as excellent. "We often have these contacts in order to be able to solve various problems that arise," he said.
He added that the Police were informed both by the Municipality and by residents that there was a feeling of insecurity in the Drosia area of Larnaca. "We evaluated the information we had and made some decisions together with the City Hall, after a meeting with the police officers of the Larnaca Police Department first preceded it."
Mr. Zachariou noted that "the residents of the area must know that policing measures will be increased both in uniform and in plain clothes. We will have a channel of communication with the residents through the NQD, so that we are informed about their actions or about suspicious movements and they themselves are informed about the actions of the police".
He expressed his appreciation that the origin of the situation that prevailed in the last few days was a serious burglary that took place in the area, a case which was solved, arresting both perpetrators, while all the stolen property was recovered. "We believe that the feeling of security of the residents, with the next moves we will make in cooperation with the Municipality of Larnaca, the world will return to everyday life", he emphasized.
At the same time, he assured that "at the meeting that will take place next Wednesday with the residents of the area present, we will be able to solve all their questions and hear from them any problems and any questions they have from the Police so that we can manage to consolidate a climate of security for the citizens of Drosia".
In a question regarding the issue of understaffing of ADE Larnaca and whether there is enough staff to cover these additional needs, Mr. Zachariou replied that "we have a plan with the personnel available on duty and we can make our plans to respond to the needs of the world. We believe that, although we could be in a better situation if there were additional staff, nevertheless with the available staff we can adequately respond to our tasks" he noted.
When asked whether the two persons arrested are the perpetrators who acted in the other cases in the Drosia area, he replied that "there were a large number of arrests concerning this particular area. We had about eight perpetrators, who were arrested for a series of burglaries and thefts in the area and the last two, admitted, are under trial and awaiting trial by the Court" he concluded.