At 8am on Monday morning 1,536 former municipal police officers reported for duty at a number of police departments in Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki and Patra, where they have temporarily been assigned, but have not yet been assigned a clear role.
Until a decision is made on the number of former municipal employees who will remain with the Hellenic Police, the former municipal employees will temporarily accompany police officers, special guards and traffic police on inspections and patrols.
For the duration of their temporarily assignments, the 1,536 officers will wear their old uniforms with Hellenic Police insignia, will not be allowed to carry firearms or issue any fines for violations.
Meanwhile the Panhellenic police employee federation (POASY) warned that the “problematic training” these officers have received “may prove to be fatal” and stressed that there was serious concern within the force.
POASY further notes the government has not taken into consideration the objections of the police itself, the former municipal police officers, or the Deputy Interior Minister Giorgos Dolios who has predicted that “the Municipal Police will return as a valuable, purely self-governed service”.
