The Minister of Citizen Protection Michael Chrysochoidis referred to crime in Crete, the spread of social violence, domestic violence, drug trafficking and the activities of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, in the context of the annual conference entitled “National Action Plan under conditions of global uncertainty”, organised by the Ideas Circle in cooperation with the Delphi Economic Forum.
Mr. Chrysochoidis, referring to the recent dismantling of a criminal group in Crete, spoke of “15 families” who, he said, “were allowed to be arbitrary, extort, defraud and destroy foreign property.”
As he pointed out, these families, which he described as “criminal groups”, have now been targeted by the authorities and are being dismantled with their members going to prisons outside Crete.
In addition, he stressed that with the full operation of a special service of the “Greek FBI” in Crete, with about 150 police officers and a special department to deal with specific criminal activities, these phenomena will be eliminated. At the same time, he noted that recently the authorities have been receiving thousands of messages from citizens in Crete urging the police “to do their job.”
Referring to the issue of violence, the Minister argued that political violence has now significantly decreased compared to previous decades, but new forms of “pervasive social violence” have developed, which he said are being amplified by social media and technology. “The image of violence is proliferating and creating imitations,” he said, making particular reference to violence among minors and incidents of domestic violence.
Mr. Chrysochoidis said that every year there are about 25,000 reports of domestic violence and 13,000 arrests, and he called it “tragic” that women and children continue to be victims of abuse. According to him, many of the perpetrators are repeat offenders and have substance or alcohol dependency problems, while pointing to major shortcomings in social and psychiatric services.
On drugs, the Minister said that there was no need to change the legislation as it was already very strict but that more international cooperation was needed to dismantle traffickers and “to focus on prevention through the family and school”. At the same time, he spoke of a significant increase in cocaine trafficking through the port of Piraeus, noting that the quantities detected are now huge. “Cocaine has become too cheap,” he said, while also warning of the spread of new synthetic chemicals produced mainly in the Middle East and Asia.
Referring to the operation of the Organized Crime Division, Mr. Chrysochoidis claimed that since the creation of the department in October 2024, some 200 criminal organisations have been dismantled. He said that until 2023 there were 24 unsolved murders related to organised crime, while now “there is no unsolved case of organised crime murder.”
Finally, he also addressed the issue of police violence and the use of cameras by police officers, noting that the installation of body cameras on police officers in operational teams, patrol cars and motorcycles is progressing, following the approval of the Data Protection Authority. At the same time, he made special mention of the Road Team, which aims to limit gatherings and avoid the use of chemicals in marches.
