The mayor of Mykonos has appealed to the new Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis for more police officers to be sent to the popular cosmopolitan island in the Cyclades.
In the letter marked "urgent", Mayor Dimitris Tzanos stated that the island's police force is “tragically understaffed” and unable to respond to a spike in thefts, burglaries, drug-related offences and violence especially over the peak summer period which has seen increased tourism and crime.
The letter appeals for more officers and at least two units of the Greek Police's OPKE force, which specialises in more serious crimes.
The island which receives more than 2 million visitors a year, "feels abandoned by the state" and the law and order is "unsatisfactory", which is why the municipal authority has set aside funds to help cover the new officers' cost of living, Tzanos added.