The mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, asked for the strengthening of policing in the Greek capital when speaking earlier at the meeting of the municipal council.
"Athens needs more policing, we need it," he stressed, noting that policing "cannot be limited to the well-known triangle around Parliament, but spread throughout the city and the seven districts."
Bakoyannis referred to the model of community policing, "in which we believe" he said, "gives security to the citizen and at the same time contributes to social cohesion."
"A model of community policing that also gives the fight against discrimination, against racism, against xenophobia. A model that can unite instead of divide," the mayor said.
He announced in advance that "the necessary steps in this area will be taken in the coming months".
The mayor also referred to the issue of drugs, saying that "it is a very big open wound, which unfortunately, for many years, not only today, the political system is wiping under carpet. We pretend it does not exist."
"We are torturing people, users, but also neighbourhoods," he stressed.
Police statistical records show that in 2020 there were 49 deaths through murder or manslaughter, 76 in 2019 and 95 in 2018.
In 2020 the record shows 242 rapes in 2020, 167 in 2019 and 152 in 2018.
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