Galery

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In 2011, over 100,000 robberies and thefts were registered in the country, i.e. almost 280 a day, reports the Greek daily To Vima. The jump in crime is unprecedented, but the police announce only one or two of the crimes officially and in writing. At the same time, in recent weeks, the police have issued hundreds of press releases, which only describe seizures of participants in criminal acts, and which are often devoid of interest. The purpose of the order from above is clear - to promote the work of the police and draw a picture of a country where security prevails.

In this way, however, a strange phenomenon emerges - to announce arrests for crimes that have never been disclosed in the media and of which only their victims are aware.

Typical is the fact that in recent days, the police have refused to provide data on the number of crimes such as arsons by anarchists and even the riots they cause. According to some representatives, "the police do not have to announce crimes carried out by others." Thus, the public will be informed of the crimes from the messages issued by criminal gangs," commented the Greek media.

Until a few months ago, the services responsible for the media relations released some important messages about events such as the conduction of armed robberies and the detection of criminal groups with mixed composition. Written messages were sent to the phones of journalists, dealing with these kind of reports, together with a brief description of the crimes. The messages of the Ministry of Citizen Protection contained similar information too. For some time now, the content and number of written messages and communications has changed dramatically.

Every day, the police issue between 15-30 messages and the majority of them describe "successful police actions." They usually contain information about 1-2 interceptions of small sellers of drugs on Omonia Square, of foreigners with false documents and other petty crimes. Similar are the messages on the website of the police.

At the same time, the number of serious crimes, armed robberies, break-ins into the homes of citizens and others seem to have significantly fallen. None of the written messages to the mobile phones of reporters contains timely information about crimes that take place in Athens and other cities.

Indicative is the fact that the last ten newsletters regarding the actions across the country inform about 56 cases of seizures of offenders on the spot, detected cases and dismantling of criminal gangs. At the same time, only 16 thefts and robberies, the perpetrators of which have not been caught, are mentioned. It is assumed that at least 1000 robberies were committed at the same time, which are not mentioned anywhere.
 
The only source of correct information on the thousands of crimes recorded daily is aggregate data. The police disclose them once or twice a year in order not to prolong the debate about the rise in crime. But even they do not contain numerical data on crimes that take place in Athens and the country, "so as not to cause confusion among the inhabitants of this area as well as insults and competition between competent heads of local police stations."