Photo: tovima.gr
The bill decriminalizing the use of drugs is expected to introduce new opportunities for police authorities to fight against drug distribution. Policemen will be able to play the role of heroin and cocaine dealers and to use the cars and technical equipment confiscated from the criminals. There will be major changes in the system of informers too.
According to senior police officers who are now engaged in the capture of drug addicts and taking them to the court, they will be exempt from this commitment and will be able to deal with other issues. However, they are warning that there is the risk of not punishing persons involved in petty theft. After capture, they could refer to the fact that they are drug addicts and insist on including them in the detoxification programs provided for in the bill. The police are also concerned that because of the growing economic crisis, it is possible more people to engage in drug distribution and clashes between criminal groups to increase.
On the other hand, the procedures under which the police could ask the judicial authorities for more lenient treatment of the person captured for violating the law on drugs, who provide information in order to break up criminal groups, are regulated in a precise manner. So far, the police appeared in court and referred to the "help" by the defendants, without providing concrete evidence to substantiate the role of the "informant." This could lead to questionable relationship between criminals and police. The new bill, however, provides that the defendant will have to submit the information in writing in order the court to show indulgence and, when the police break up a group they will have to prepare another document proving that the particular acts were actually very important for the development of the case.
Another important reform will be that policemen will be allowed to penetrate in criminal gangs undercover and become their "members" and even to get involved in trafficking or other criminal acts, provided they are closely associated with police work and breaking the drug networks. All vehicles and technical equipment that would be confiscated during the operations could be used directly by the police.
According to officers, the measure to give methadone to addicts in public hospitals is especially positive because "it will make its distribution network in central Athens disappear or at least will largely limit it." The police are not optimistic that deaths from drug use, which are about 200-300 per year, or the places for drug sell in the country will reduce at least at first.
Meanwhile, the police are preparing for the general social protests, which are expected to resume in the autumn. The two new "weapons" are a tank, which sprays a strong jet of water and two hydraulic folding fences, similar to the fence used during the protests on the Vasilisis Sofiyas Avenue in May. No rubber or coloured bullets will be bought at least for now due to the risk of serious injuries among protesters.
On the other hand, frequent attacks in recent years by Somali pirates against ships allowed retired former commandos and military divers to find a new career. At least five Greek "sea security" companies began to offer their services to Greek and foreign ships to protect them from pirates in the Indian Ocean. Against a fee, which varies from $ 25 to $ 80 thousand, they send dozens of reservists from the ranks of military divers, commandos and other men with experience in the special units of the army to repel the frequent attacks of pirates, especially in the Gulf of Aden. Besides trained staff, the companies also offer expertise and equipment, which literally turn the ships into impregnable fortresses. Barbed wire and cables with electricity are girding the ships and there are even special premises to protect the crews.
A representative of one of the security companies says that around 25,000 ships a year sail in the Gulf of Aden and 8,000 of them are Greek. There were over 200 attacks only in 2011, 22 ships and 400 sailors were captured. This is an increase of about 30 per cent compared with 2010. Two thousand pirates are operating in the Gulf and their level of organization is continuously improving. "The situation is desperate and many shipping companies hide the truth. In recent months, hundreds of sailors were victims of torture by the pirates who wanted to force the ship owners to pay them a ransom of between $ 3 and 13 million. Our company employs dozens of former members of the special units, who undergo training and have certificates to protect ships from piracy."
125 companies worldwide offer protection of ships from such attacks. "We employ about 35 former military divers who have the appropriate training. Unfortunately, companies that have no experience and their staff is not trained began to emerge. Nevertheless, they argue that they offer protection against Somali pirates as though it comes to security of ATMs."
About 13 per cent of the ships all over the world use the services of armed and unarmed security guards in order to avoid attacks and 20 per cent jump is expected by the end of 2013.
Commandos usually stay in the Kenyan capital, Mombasa, Dar el Salaam and other African ports and get on board when the ships will sail through the dangerous area. During this time, they train the crew while being on the alert for a possible attack by pirates. According to the person in charge of one such team, "attacks on ships are terrible. We have dealt with 6-7 such emergencies when the pirates tried to board the ship, and our guards fired a warning to stop them. We're talking about real war."
According to Greek companies for shipping security, there is not a single case of successful pirate attack on a guarded ship registered. But because the presence of armed guards on Greek ships is officially prohibited, "unarmed men" get on board who put barbed wire and electric cables on the ship and train the crew to be prepared in case of an attack. The security plan for the ships also involves dolls, like armed guards, which act as "scarecrows".