Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis had an online meeting with over 2,500 police officers on Friday, on the issue of domestic violence.
According to sources, Chrisochoidis asked the officers to deal with each problem as if it was their own and to put themselves in the victims' shoes. "The citizens want and should feel safe when they come to us. In any incident of domestic violence, we are obliged to do our best to make women feel safe and make sure that before they leave the police station, that they will continue to be safe," the minister underlined.
According to the same sources, a special handbook on handling domestic violence cases that was issued in 2021 should be used.
"We treat each victim with empathy and provide them with every support," was the minister's message to police officers.
Finally, according to the same sources, ELAS is making four basic additions to the management of domestic violence cases:
1.Monitoring and supervision of all complaints and incidents at the level of the Police Directorate, with the appointment of a senior officer as supervisor.
- A weekly report outlining the complaints made and their management by each Police Division will be sent to the Department for Dealing with Domestic Violence at the Hellenic Police headquarters so that there can be supervision and accountability.
3.The Duty Officer will inform the station chief and the supervisor of the Police Department of each incident, to get support in handling it.
- Safe transport and housing in a safe place will be offered to each victim until there is no threat for their life. A total of 45 new Domestic Violence Offices will have been created throughout Greece and the use of the Panic Button will be expanded nationwide by the end of May.