| Hellenic Police Ελληνική Αστυνομία Elliniki Astynomia | |
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| Abbreviation | ΕΛΑΣ |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1 November 1984; 41 years ago (1984-11-01) |
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| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Greece |
| Operations jurisdiction | Greece |
| Governing body | Government of Greece |
| Constituting instrument |
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| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Ministry of Citizen Protection |
| Headquarters | Athens, Greece |
| Sworn members | 67,000 |
| Agency executives |
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| Notables | |
| Anniversary |
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| Website | |
| www | |
TheHellenic Police (Greek:Ελληνική Αστυνομία,romanized: Ellinikí Astynomía, abbreviatedΕΛ.ΑΣ.) is the nationalpolice service and one of the three security forces ofGreece (the others being theHellenic Fire Service and theHellenic Coast Guard). It is a large agency with responsibilities ranging fromroad traffic control tocounter-terrorism. Police Lieutenant General Dimitrios Mallios[1] is Chief of the Hellenic Police. He replaced Lazaros Mavropoulos in January 2024. The Hellenic Police force was established in 1984 under Law 1481/1-10-1984 (Government Gazette 152/A/8-10-1984) as the result of the merger of theGendarmerie (Χωροφυλακή,Chorofylakí, 1833–1984) and theCities Police (Αστυνομία Πόλεων,Astynomía Póleon, 1921–1984) forces.[2]
According to Law 7187/2025[3] which reorganized, upgraded and modernized the Hellenic Police's structure, mission and modus operandi, replacing the previous Law 2800/2000, the Hellenic Police is a security force whose primary missions are:
The Hellenic Police is constituted along central and regional lines. The force takes direction from theMinister for Citizen Protection.
The Hellenic Police force[4][5] is headed in ade jure sense by theMinister for Citizen Protection (in a similar way that many US Police Departments give an elected civilian the role ofCommissioner), and although the Minister sets the general policy direction of Greece's stance towards law and order as a whole, the Chief of Police is the day-to-day head of the force. Underneath the Chief of Police is the First Deputy Chief (Deputy of Operations), who oversees and coordinates all Operations and Special Police Forces across the country in accordance to the Chief's orders. In addition, in the event of the Chief of Police being unable to assume his duties, they will take over as the interim head. Underneath the First Deputy Chief is the Second Deputy Chief (Deputy of Staff), who heads the five Staff General Divisions of the Hellenic Police, which in turn coordinate all central and regional services of the force in order to ensure the enforcement of its five primary missions. The Policing and Security General Division is by far the most important, and includes the Policing Division, the Community Policing Division, the Public Security Division, the State Security Division (a division protecting the state and its interests equivalent to theNSA in the US, which replaced theNational Security Service after its abolition in 1984), the Passports and Other Security Documents Division and the International Police Cooperation Division. Equal in rank to the Chief and the Deputy Chiefs, are the General Police Coordinators ofSouthern andNorthern Greece, who have under their jurisdiction the regional services of both theseadministrative divisions.
Greece is divided into two sectors for policing, both headed by a General Police Coordinator with the rank of Lieutenant General. These sectors both contain severalregions, headed by Regional Directors, usually with the rank of Major General or sometimes with the rank of Brigadier General.
Southern Greece (General Police Coordinator: Lt. Gen. Nikolaos Spiridakis)
Northern Greece (General Police Coordinator: Lt. Gen. Georgios Papadopoulos)
Note: WhileThessaloniki is not considered aregion from a geographical and administrative standpoint, the Thessaloniki General Police Directorate operates as a General Regional Directorate and is actually considered the Hellenic Police's "Northern Greece HQ".
The Hellenic Police force has several Divisions and Services under the authority of the Chief of Police (called Special Investigative Divisions with national investigative jurisdiction, which work in conjunction with regional and other police services where necessary) and the 2 Deputy Chiefs (Divisions which mostly oversee and coordinate the various regional services and units).[6][7] These Divisions are usually headed by Major Generals and Brigadier Generals. They are as follows:
Overseen by the Chief of Police:
Overseen by the First Deputy Chief (Deputy of Operations):
Overseen by the Second Deputy Chief (Deputy of Staff):
Other Specialized Police Units within Departments
Each of the 74Regional Units of Greece has its own Police Directorate (Αστυνομική Διεύθυνση), headquartered in the capital city of said Unit and overseen by the General Regional Police Directorate (Γενική Περιφερειακή Αστυνομική Διεύθυνση) of theAdministrative Region which theRegional Unit is part of.[30] These Directorates are led by Brigadier Generals or Police Directors and are in charge of thepatrol,traffic control as well as the investigation, suppression and prevention of crime in the area.
The Directorate's Staff comprises 4 Bureaus: a Policing Bureau, a Crime Investigation and Prosecution & Foreign Persons Bureau, an Administrative Support, HR & Education Bureau, and a Informatics Systems and Networking Bureau. All 4 Bureaus are given orders and guidelines from the General Divisions of the Hellenic Police HQ, overseen by the Second Deputy Chief (Deputy of Staff), and in turn coordinate the various Subdivisions, Departments, Offices, Units, Precincts and Stations which fall under the oversight of the Directorate and ensure their compliance with the 5 missions of the Hellenic Police.
The General Regional Police Directorate additionally has an Operations Bureau which oversees and coordinates all operations across the region, has administrative command over all Police Special Forces operating in the region and answers directly to the Division of Operations and Crises Management, the Special Police Forces Division and the Police Air Force Division of the Hellenic Police HQ, overseen by the First Deputy Chief (Deputy of Operations).
The cornerstone of General Policing is preemptive patrolling and responding to emergency dispatch calls. In some of the country's largest cities (Attica,Thessaloniki,Patras,Heraklion,Larissa,Ioannina,Lamia,Chalkida,Chania andAgrinio), this duty befalls to the Immediate Response (Άμεση Δράση) Department. Patrol Officers (bothcar patrols and themotorcycle police unitsΔΙ.ΑΣ. andΖΗΤΑ) as well as Dispatch Officers, who operate the call center for "100" (Emergency Phone Number in Greece) are part of this Department.[31] Immediate Response officers may additionally support other police services and participate in operations whenever required. In the rest of the country, patrolling duties are exclusively carried out by the localPrecincts.
Patrol units typically consist of a Sergeant or Deputy Sergeant serving as the driver and a Constable or Special Guard in the passenger seat. Field supervision during each shift is provided by the most senior patrol officer on duty—usually a Sergeant, Deputy Lieutenant, or Lieutenant II—while overall shift oversight is exercised by a Watch Commander, generally holding the rank of Lieutenant.
Within the call center, Constables and Deputy Sergeants act as phone operators. They answer civilian calls and compile call sheets containing all relevant information about the caller and the incident. Dispatching duties are carried out by mid-ranking officers—most often Sergeants, Deputy Lieutenants, or Lieutenants II—who coordinate all types of patrol units in the area to ensure the most effective and timely response. A shift supervisor, also selected from these mid-ranking officers, oversees the call center during each shift and is additionally responsible for handling text messages sent to “100.” The call center’s Commanding Officer is usually a Lieutenant or Captain II.[32][33]
Frequently encountered alongside Immediate Response andPrecinct patrols are the units of the Traffic Police Department(s). With their own fleet of cars and motorcycles, officers of this Department enforce traffic laws, respond to traffic accidents in order to reroute traffic and guard the scene, act as traffic wardens and of course serve tickets for traffic violations. Traffic Police Departments also command the Traffic Accidents Control and Prevention Units (Ομάδες Ελέγχου και Πρόληψης Τροχαίων Ατυχημάτων - Ο.Ε.Π.Τ.Α.), specialized units which usually create road blocks in order to conduct field sobriety tests, monitor speeding and check drivers' licenses, preventing law-breaking drivers from causing any potential accidents.
Since December 2025, officers of Ο.Ε.Π.Τ.Α. inAttica have also been tasked with monitoring eightAI-enabledtraffic cameras installed on major central avenues of the region. These cameras operate as part of a pilot program aimed at the large-scale, automated detection and verification of traffic violations, improving both efficiency and enforcement capacity.
The system automatically identifies violations, reads vehiclelicense plates, retrieves the registered owner’s contact details from police databases, and sends anSMS notification containing the traffic fine along with an RF payment code.
By the end of 2026, the installation of approximately 2,000 such cameras is scheduled across streets, avenues, and highways inAttica,Thessaloniki, andCrete, along with an additional 500 cameras inside public buses. The system is expected to be gradually expanded to the rest of the country thereafter.
Additionally, Traffic Police Departments have their own Investigations Offices which handle all traffic-related criminal cases and investigations, as well Infractions Offices where citizens can appeal their traffic tickets.
Some Directorates also supervise:
which conduct both foot and vehicle patrols in touristic areas and have their own Call and Dispatch Centre which serves tourist callers in at least 5 foreign languages
which transfers prisoners between holding cells, courthouses and prisons, while also being responsible for guarding courtrooms and maintaining order inside of them, and
which includes its own Policing Office (for conducting patrols, general policing duties and enforcing traffic laws inside the airport), Investigation & Prosecution Office (for handling criminal investigations inside the airport) as well as a Passport Inspection Office.
All 5 of these types of Departments operate exclusively within themetropolitan borders of theRegional Unit's capital city (apart from the Traffic Police Departments with territorial jurisdiction over the country'sHighways). There also operates at least onePrecinct in said city which primarily deals with other general policing as well as community policing duties and also functions as a community outreach for civilians to report police-related matters and have a direct contact with law enforcement officers.
Among aPrecinct's duties are
The first three of these duties are delegated to either the Investigations Offices in smaller, typically rural,Precincts or the Crime Investigation and Prosecution Departments or Subdivisions which operate in largerPrecincts (see Crime Investigation and Prosecution & Foreign Persons Bureau).
Traffic Policing, Tourist Policing, Prisoner Transport and Courtroom Guarding Duties in smaller towns and villages which are located outside thecity limits of theRegional Unit's capital, are also carried out by the officers of the local, ruralPrecincts and Stations (very smallPrecincts in small, remote villages and islands), similar to howSheriffs' Departments handle police matters in theunincorporated areas in the US. This used to be under the jurisdiction of theHellenic Gendarmerie before its fusion with theCities Police in 1984.
Due to staff shortages in many rural Precincts however, most General Regional Police Directorates in mainland Greece operate Mobile Police Units - MPUs (Κινητές Αστυνομίες Μονάδες - Κ.Α.Μ.), auxiliary units which patrol a different provincial area of the Region, every day of the week, from 6 PM to 12 AM. At the same time, the Regional Units' Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivisions also assist the rural Precincts' Investigation Offices during larger-scale and more serious investigations.
Conversely, some rural Precincts in bigger and more central towns might even have their own ΔΙ.ΑΣ. (motorcycle police) units, their own specialized Traffic Police Office/Department and/or Ο.Ε.Π.Τ.Α. (Traffic Accidents Control and Prevention Units), their own Tourist Police Office (usually in very touristic towns and islands), as well as their own Crime Investigation and Prosecution Department and/or Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. (Units of the Suppression of Crime - see Crime Investigation and Prosecution Bureau), in order to police their area of jurisdiction more efficiently.
63 Precincts around the country are also currently housingDomestic Violence Offices which civilians can visit in order to seek help from investigators with specialized training on matters of domestic violence as well as to obtain the "Panic Button" app and be able to communicate with the Police immediately and discreetly during a domestic crisis emergency. Investigators of these offices conduct follow-up evaluations on victims even after prosecution has concluded.[34]
As part of an initiative to boostcommunity policing practices even more, starting with the Region ofCrete on March 20, 2025, 4 Squads of "Animal Police" (one in each of Crete's Regional Units,Heraklion,Chania,Rethymno andLasithi) were formed to address animal welfare offenses. Each squad right now has a Captain as its Commanding Officer as well as 4 more members, and if this pilot program works, there are plans to develop Animal Police Squads all across the country.[35] Captain I Emmanouil Boutyrakis, who is also the Commanding Officer of theSitia Precinct, leads this Pilot Program.[36]
Another pilot program which was initiated recently inAttica is the "Ariadne" Taskforce also known asTransit Police. 130 officers from other services were chosen to be present in all means of Public Transportation likeTrams,Buses andTrains, mainly in Western Attica, starting from February 24, 2025. The pilot program is led and overseen by Brig. General Emmanouil Panagiotou and the Taskforce is led by Police Deputy Director Konstantinos Dimou and if it's successful, it will become its own separate Division in the General Police Directorate of Attica and possibly even expand to the rest of the country.[37] As of May 26, 2025, in the 3 months of its existence, the officers of the "Ariadne" Taskforce have made over 700 arrests. These arrests mainly concern individuals who were found in possession of drugs and weapons while on public transportation, as well as perpetrators who caused damage to buses and assaulted drivers. Additionally, there has been a recorded decrease in incidents of narcotics usage and robberies, both in transit and at stations, for the duration of the program thus far.[38]
This Bureau mainly oversees the Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivision of a Directorate (previously called Security Subdivision), which is responsible for the detection, investigation and suppression of crime in the capital city of the respective Regional Unit, and is located within that city’s centralPrecinct. InAttica andThessaloniki however, the corresponding Subdivisions also coordinate the numerous Crime Investigation and Prosecution Departments which are housed across the plethora of Precincts of these two largemetropolitan areas.
The Subdivision in question consists of
while some Subdivisions may additionally include the following dedicated services:
InAttica andThessaloniki, the central Crime Investigation and Prosecution Divisions further include Departments of Searches which are part of theEuropean Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST) and are responsible for locatingfugitives and wanted offenders as well as dedicated Departments ofEnvironmental Protection.
In addition, due to the large metropolitan areas under their jurisdictions, these Divisions have their own Operational Command Centers, which oversee and coordinate deployed tactical, investigative, and undercover units during major incidents as well as supervise the collection, analysis, and dissemination of actionable intelligence to inform decision-making and operational planning.
InRegional Units which are situated near the borders of the country, this Bureau also oversees Immigration Control and Border Protection Departments,[24] composed mostly of Border Guards, special police personnel with a 3-month basic training and a fixed-term contract. Immigration Control Departments command their own Investigation Offices — which investigate immigrants' illegal entry or employment in the country as well as immigrant trafficking — and Illegal Immigrants Detention Centers. Border Protection Departments comprise Border Patrol Units as well Passport Inspection Offices. There are also Passport Inspection Stations, Immigration Control Departments as well as standalone Foreign Persons Departments inAttica andThessaloniki, due to the large amounts of illegal immigrants in those large cities.
The Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivisions and Departments (as well as all other Investigative Services) mostly consist of Commissioned Officers (officers with a rank of Lieutenant II or higher) or NCOs with Investigative Duties, while Non-Investigative Personnel who belong in these Services are usually part of the Units of Suppression and Prevention of Crime(Ο.Π.Κ.Ε.), thetactical support groups which aid investigators in executing operations (e.g.: raids, stakeouts, search warrants,arrest warrants etc), as well as the special motorcycle unit "Action" (Δράση), a patrolling unit inAttica andThessaloniki which responds exclusively to severe crimes and crises with a much faster response time compared to regular patrol officers. There are alsoΟ.Π.Κ.Ε. Units which are tasked with patrolling certain districts, and/or during certain hours, known for their highcrime rates, in order to provide emergency tactical response in assistance to regular patrolling units during a riskier emergency,[39][40] to conduct inspections for drugs and illegal firearms, or to surveil repeat offenders and/or suspects of ongoing investigations and prevent them from engaging in more illicit activities. Undercover investigators in civilian clothes may also participate in patrols, either on foot or with unmarked vehicles, in order to conduct similar inspections and surveillance operations. Patrolling Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. Units utilize specialized pickup trucks and large SUVs and consist of 3-4 officers per vehicle, at least one of which must have the rank of Sergeant or Deputy Lieutenant. They also have much heavier equipment and even store automatic weapons in their vehicles in case of serious emergencies. In Police Directorates without Prisoner Transport - Courtroom Police Departments, Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. covers these duties as well. The functional profile of Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. bears notable similarity to the B and C Platoons of theLAPD Metropolitan Division in terms of duties, equipment and tactical procedures, although there is no evidence indicating that Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. was directly modeled after said U.S. units.
Ever since November 8, 2025, an additional operational unit has been established within several Precincts ofAttica,Thessaloniki and sixteen moreRegional Units, designated as Prevention and Mediation Units (Ομάδες Πρόληψης και Διαμεσολάβησης – Ο.Π.ΔΙ.). Composed of 473 highly-trained Police Officers, most of which used to serve in Ο.Π.Κ.Ε., as well as 50 newly-hired accreditedRomani Mediators, these Units conduct foot and vehicle patrols on a 24-hour basis withinRomani settlements across the country and conduct inspections and crime suppression operations. Their stated mission is the prevention of criminal activity, the strengthening of police presence within these areas, and the promotion of mediation and cooperation between Romani communities and the Hellenic Police. The Ο.Π.ΔΙ. Units fall under the Division of Organized Crime's Special Operational Taskforces Department and, outside ofAttica andThessaloniki, they are supervised by the Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivision of eachRegional Unit.[41][42]
All local Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivisions and Departments operating throughout Greece are required to report their operational activity, findings, and intelligence to the Organized Crime Division and its two regional Subdivisions. This framework is intended to support the centralized analysis and profiling of criminal activity, facilitate intelligence coordination, and enable the identification of broader criminal networks operating across multiple regions of the country.[43] A liaison officer in each Police Directorate links said Directorate to the relevant Organized Crime Service and all three of said Services retain authority to assume primary responsibility for investigations relating to Organized Crime in their geographic area ofjurisdiction following prior communication with the Director of the local Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivision.
In addition to the Departments of Narcotics, Financial Crime and Human & Illegal Items Trafficking common to all three Organized Crime Services, the Subdivision of Organized Crime ofCrete includes a distinct “Department of Special Criminal Activity”, which is tasked with the investigation of vendetta-relatedhomicides, large-scale illegalweapons possession and trafficking as well asrustling (livestock theft) and other types of organizedlarceny, phenomena that have been of particular prevalence in rural and mountainous parts of the region for many decades. This Department is staffed by experienced officers from Attica, 20 of whom form a dedicated "Special Rapid Response Operational Unit" assigned to immediate deployment in case of such incidents.[44][45][46][47]
To further enhance operational readiness on the island, ever since 2001, six Departments of Police Operations (Τμήματα Αστυνομικών Επιχειρήσεων - Τ.Α.Ε.) have operated across Crete, each with defined geographic jurisdiction in predominantly rural and provincial areas. These Departments function as the rural equivalent of Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. units, providing enhanced patrols, emergency tactical response, inspections related to narcotics and illegal firearms, targeted surveillance, and the execution of raids and arrest warrants. Administratively, they fall under the four Police Directorates ofCrete (two inHeraklion, two inRethymno, one inChania and one inLasithi). Operationally, however, they serve as the principal tactical support units of the Subdivision of Organized Crime of Crete, fulfilling a role analogous to that of the Special Operational Taskforces of the Organized Crime Services in Attica and Thessaloniki.[48] From 2026 onwards, officers of the Τ.Α.Ε. undergo the same annual rigorous training as Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. (see Operations Bureau).[49]
When an operation or arrest requires highly specialized capabilities – such as confronting heavily armed perpetrators, managing hostage situations, handling suspected explosive devices or weapons of mass destruction, responding to terrorist threats and aircraft or train hijackings, and generally countering overwhelming opposition – members of the Special Police Forces may be deployed alongside or instead of Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. These include: a) theSpecial Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit (Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. – SSAU), which serves as the nationalSWAT-equivalent force; b) the Department of Explosive Devices Disposal; c) the Department of K9 Operators; and d) the Police Air Force Division.
These units are also mobilized duringemergencies andcrises that exceed the capacity and capabilities of regular police personnel – such as large-scale manhunts for dangerous fugitives or searches for missing persons. The first three units operate under the Division of Special Police Forces, while the Police Air Force Division became a standalone division in 2016. Both are central services under the authority of the First Deputy Chief (Deputy Chief of Operations) and operate primarily out ofAttica andThessaloniki, alongside the Special Investigative Divisions.
There is however an additional Special Suppressive Anti-Terrorist Unit inCrete, while Bomb Squad Units and K9 Units, have been established within most Police Directorates across the country and are staffed by officers dispatched from the central Division of Special Police Forces inAttica. These units operate under the supervision of the Operations Bureau of each region’s General Regional Police Directorate. Regarding police dogs, each K9 handler and dog pair trained in explosive detection (95 pairs nationwide) is assigned to the Bomb Squad Units, while those trained in narcotics detection (51 pairs) serve within the Narcotics Departments of the Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivisions. InAttica,Thessaloniki, and certain border regions, K9 handler–dog pairs are also deployed for patrol, prisoner transport, and guard duties (42 pairs in total).
Some regional Operations Bureaus also oversee an Office of Unmanned Aircraft, composed of drone operators from the Police Air Force Division’s Subdivision of Unmanned Aircraft. These operators are stationed in selectedregional units –particularly on islands and near Greece’s borders. Consequently, while manned aircraft (helicopters) operate only inAttica andThessaloniki, unmanned aircraft are also active inHeraklion,Evros (inAlexandroupolis andOrestiada),Samos,Chios, and theDodecanese.
Another major tactical formation of the Hellenic Police is the Riot Police Units (ΜΑΤ – Μονάδες Αποκατάστασης Τάξης), operating inAttica andThessaloniki under each city’s Division of Police Operations (Δ.Α.Ε. – Διεύθυνση Αστυνομικών Επιχειρήσεων). Each Division comprises two Subdivisions: the Subdivision of Public Order Reinstatement (Υποδιεύθυνση Αποκατάστασης Τάξης – Υ.Α.Τ.) and the Subdivision of Order Measures Enforcement (Υποδιεύθυνση Μέτρων Τάξης – Υ.ΜΕ.Τ.).[50]
Officers of the Subdivision of Order Measures Enforcement wear standard police uniforms and equipment and are typically deployed at smallerdemonstrations,sporting events, or public gatherings where violence is not anticipated. By contrast, officers of the Subdivision of Public Order Reinstatement wear olive-green uniforms and heavier protective gear, includingriot shields, helmets,tear gas,flash-bang grenades, andoxygen masks. For operational security reasons, they do not displayname tags or badge numbers on their uniforms. Platoons of this subdivision are usually deployed at large-scale demonstrations, high-risk sporting events, and gatherings organized byanarchist or otherextremist groups where riots or violent incidents are likely to occur. Officers of the Υ.Α.Τ. have been the subject of public controversy concerning allegations of excessive or unwarrantedpolice violence.
Riot policing and public order reinstatement duties outside ofAttica andThessaloniki are carried out by Support Platoons (Διμοιρίες Υποστήριξης). Each Regional Police Directorate maintains one such platoon, whilePatras,Heraklion, andLarissa have two due to their larger populations and greater operational needs.
Riot policing platoons (ΥΑΤ/ΥΜΕΤ/Support) nationwide additionally perform foot patrols in crowded public areas and during peak hours, enabling immediate intervention in cases of public order disturbances.
Each Platoon typically consists of 30 Constables or Deputy Sergeants, 2 Sergeants or Deputy Lieutenants serving as Squad Leaders, and 2 Lieutenants serving as the Platoon Commander and Deputy Commander, respectively. Platoons of other tactical units (ΟΠΚΕ, ΟΠΔΙ, ΕΚΑΜ, TAE) have a similar composition. The personnel of Support Platoons are drawn from various other police services within the Directorate and the platoons are activated only when the restoration of public order cannot be achieved by the Directorate’s regular police forces.[51] In exceptional circumstances, the Riot Police Units ofAttica may be deployed anywhere in southern Greece, while those ofThessaloniki may operate anywhere in northern Greece, if deemed necessary by the Chief of Police.
Similarly, the Special Suppressive Anti-Terrorist Units (SSAU/Ε.Κ.Α.Μ.) ofAttica andThessaloniki may be deployed nationwide for specialized operations, as only those two cities, as well as the Region ofCrete, maintain dedicated units with such responsibilities.
Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. units are not homogeneous. They comprise several squads, with officers trained in specific specialties, such as:
All officers who wish to join Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. must have already served in the Hellenic Police for at least 5 years and then need to successfully undergo a rigorous 3-month training, before being considered for a placement in the Unit. Provided they are chosen, they undergo an additional 3-month training every year for the duration of their service in the Unit. Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. routinely collaborates with similar special Police forces across Europe (SO19, GEO, RAID, GIGN, SEC, Cobra) and the United States (FBI Hostage Rescue Team, US Marshals Special Operation Group), both in operations as well as in training exercises.[52]
Most of the officers serving in the Organized Crime Division's Special Operational Taskforces, which offer tactical support to the Investigators of the Service, used to serve in Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. and continue undergoing the same rigorous training and follow similar special tactics.
Each Directorate additionally has a Passport Issuing Office, as well as an Office ofForensic Investigations, equipped with a Crime Scene Investigation Unit ("Σήμανση") which collects and processes crime scene evidence, such as biological and biochemical samples, digital data,ballistics evidence, etc. These pieces of evidence however are analyzed by the Regional Departments ofForensic Investigations which comprise the necessarylaboratories and specialized personnel with the ability to do so.[14] General Regional Police Directorates also have a Department of Intelligence Gathering and Management, a Disciplinary Inspection Department and an Office of Press Communication and PR. All of these regional services report directly to their respective Divisions at HQ.
The Counter-Terrorism Division and the Cyber Crime Division are the only Special Investigative Divisions to exclusively operate inAttica andThessaloniki, but they both have national jurisdiction. Additionally, even though the Government Officials and other Susceptible Targets Protection General Division operates inAttica from an administrative standpoint, the personnel of this division have a duty to follow the person of interest they are protecting wherever they may travel to around the country as well as abroad.
Source:[53]
| Title | Police Lieutenant General | Police Major General | Police Brigadier General | Police Director (or Police Colonel) | Police Deputy Director (or Police Lieutenant Colonel) | Police Captain I (or Police Major) | Police Captain II | Police Lieutenant I | Police Lieutenant II | Police Deputy Lieutenant (or Police Warrant Officer) | Police Sergeant (Investigative Duty – with promotion exam) | Police Sergeant (Investigative Duty) | Police Sergeant (non-Investigative Duty) | Police Deputy Sergeant (Investigative Duty) | Police Deputy Sergeant (non-Investigative Duty) | Constable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greek title | Αντιστράτηγος | Υποστράτηγος | Ταξίαρχος | Αστυνομικός Διευθυντής | Αστυνομικός Υποδιευθυντής | Αστυνόμος Α΄ | Αστυνόμος Β΄ | Υπαστυνόμος Α΄ | Υπαστυνόμος B΄ | Ανθυπαστυνόμος | Αρχιφύλακας (Ανακριτικός Υπάλληλος – Με εξετάσεις) | Αρχιφύλακας (Ανακριτικός Υπάλληλος) | Αρχιφύλακας (Μη ανακριτικός υπάλληλος) | Υπαρχιφύλακας (Ανακριτικός Υπάλληλος) | Υπαρχιφύλακας (Μη ανακριτικός υπάλληλος) | Αστυφύλακας |
| Insignia |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Title | Police Lieutenant General | Police Major General | Police Director | Police Deputy Director | Police Captain I (or Police Major) | Police Captain II | Police Lieutenant | Police Deputy Lieutenant (or Police Warrant Officer) | Police Sergeant | Constable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greek title | Αντιστράτηγος | Υποστράτηγος | Αστυνομικός Διευθυντής | Αστυνομικός Υποδιευθυντής | Αστυνόμος Α΄ | Αστυνόμος Β΄ | Υπαστυνόμος | Ανθυπαστυνόμος | Αρχιφύλακας | Αστυφύλακας |
| Insignia | | |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
Police constables are initially assigned to a policePrecinct, usually in theAttica region, for the first 12 months following graduation from the Police Academy's School of Police Constables,[56] where they primarily perform general policing duties, including patrol, guard, and desk duties. After completing their first year of service, constables may apply for assignment to most other services (Immediate Response, Traffic Police, Airport Police etc). However, they may only join special police units—such as Special Suppressive Anti-Terrorist Units, K-9 units, Bomb Squad units, Units for the Prevention and Suppression of Crime (Ο.Π.Κ.Ε.), Departments of Police Operations (Τ.Α.Ε.), the Organized Crime Division's Special Operational Taskforces (including Ο.Π.ΔΙ.) and Riot Policing platoons—after completing at least five years of service.[39]
Constables may be promoted to Deputy Sergeants after at least ten years of service and generally retain similar duties, albeit with increased responsibility. Deputy Sergeants may then be promoted to Sergeants (three chevrons) after completing 15 years of total service. Alternatively, Constables, Deputy Sergeants, and three-chevron Sergeants may be promoted directly to four-chevron Sergeant through annual examinations, provided they have completed at least three years of total service, or at least two years if they hold aBachelor's Degree.[57][58]
Sergeants typically serve as drivers of patrol units, squad leaders of tactical units, dispatchers,duty officers, field supervisors on patrol, assistant watch commanders, or in other supervisory roles within precincts, departments, and regional directorates (such as inventory, archive or logistics management). They function as mid-level supervisors with a number of constables under their command and may also serve as field trainers at the Police Academy.
Four-chevron Sergeants may be promoted to Deputy Lieutenants after completing at least five years of service in their rank, or three years if they hold a Bachelor’s degree that was not previously considered during promotion to Sergeant. Three-chevron Sergeants may only be promoted to Deputy Lieutenants after completing 25 years of total active service in the force. Officers of this rank generally perform duties similar to those of Sergeants but may additionally serve as watch commanders, senior field supervisors of special units (such as Guard Units, Bomb Squad Units, K-9 Units, Ο.Π.Κ.Ε., Ο.Π.ΔΙ. and Ο.Ε.Π.Τ.Α.), taskforce leaders, tactical operations coordinators or platoon commanders.
Deputy Lieutenants may be promoted to Lieutenant II after completing at least three years in rank and successfully graduating from a one-year program at the Police Academy’s School of Post-Graduate Learning and Lifelong Education. Thereafter, officers may advance through the ranks up to Police Deputy Director and retire with the rank of Police Director (ret).[59]
Graduates of the Police Academy’s School of Police Commissioned Officers on the other hand begin their careers at the rank of Lieutenant II and may advance to the rank of Lieutenant General, the highest rank in the Hellenic Police. Non-commissioned officers may also apply for entry examinations to the school and, upon successful graduation, are promoted to Lieutenant II.
Contrary to NCOs who are usually assigned to field work, Commissioned Officers mostly perform administrative, command and generally office-bound duties.
Newly-graduated Lieutenants II are usually assigned toprecincts as watch commanders, staff officers, inter-agency coordinators and liaisons or deputy commanding officers, but can also be assigned to specialized services in a variety of roles, including dispatchers, press spokespeople, passport and ID issuing supervisors etc providing early experience in supervisory positions. As with non-commissioned personnel, commissioned officers may only be assigned to special tactical units after completing at least five years of service, at which point they may serve directly as platoon commanders.
Scientists (including biologists, chemists, physicists, computer scientists, engineers, psychologists, and anthropologists), as well as medical doctors and dentists, may also join the Hellenic Police without completing the full undergraduate program of the Police Academy. These officers enter the force at the rank of Lieutenant II (scientists) or Lieutenant I (medical doctors and dentists) and undergo a three-month basic training program covering firearms use, legal fundamentals, and police procedures. They are typically assigned to the Forensic Investigation Division or the Health and Safety Division and may advance to the rank of Major General, serving as Directors of the aforementioned divisions.[60]
Since the Hellenic Police was established with organizational assistance from theBritish Police, its operational structure does not include a distinct “Detective” rank. Instead, police officers of all ranks who have entered the force through the Hellenic Police Academy (as opposed to Special Guards or Border Guards) may be assigned to investigative services, such as Investigation Offices, Crime Investigation and Prosecution Departments and Subdivisions, and Special Investigative Divisions.
Within these services, police personnel perform the role of Investigative Officers (Ανακριτικοί Υπάλληλοι). Deputy Lieutenants, Lieutenants (II and I), and Captains II (who usually act as Investigator Squad Leaders) most commonly serve as primary investigators and case handlers, in a role broadly comparable toInspectors and Chief Inspectors in British policing. Lower-ranking personnel, such as Constables, Deputy Sergeants, and Sergeants assigned to investigative duties, typically act as assistant investigators, or may be entrusted with smaller-scale cases, including misdemeanors, petty offences, and minor criminal cases, particularly in smaller departments.
An Investigative Officer (Ανακριτικός Υπάλληλος) is responsible for conducting preliminary criminal investigations under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor. Their duties include the collection, analysis and evaluation of evidence, interviewing witnesses and suspects, conducting crime scene examinations and inspections, coordinating with forensic and technical services, and drafting official reports and case files (δικογραφίες). Investigative Officers are also responsible for executing prosecutorial orders (such as search and arrest warrants, court-authorized surveillance or undercover operations, and coordinated enforcement actions, the latter often carried out with the assistance of specialized tactical units such as Ο.Π.Κ.Ε., Τ.Α.Ε. and Ε.Κ.Α.Μ.),[61] ensuring procedural legality during the pre-trial phase, and submitting completed case files to the competent judicial authorities. In practice, the designated case handler bears primary responsibility for the progress, completeness, and procedural correctness of the investigation.
Captains I (rank equivalent to Major), along with Captains II, typically serve as commanding officers and deputy commanding officers, respectively, of precincts, departments, offices, bureaus, or certain units. In smaller departments, offices, or precincts, Captains II—and in some cases Lieutenants I or II—may also serve as commanding officers, with Lieutenants or Deputy Lieutenants acting as their deputies. Lieutenants, Deputy Lieutenants, or even Sergeants may be assigned as commanding officers of Police Stations (Αστυνομικοί Σταθμοί), which function as very small precincts in remote villages and islands.
The duties of Commanding Officers include coordination, strategic planning, mentoring and guidance, budget and resource allocation, personnel evaluation and disciplinary oversight, representation of the service before higher command and local government authorities, crisis management as well as direct oversight of major incidents and investigations.
Captains I, Police Deputy Directors (rank equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel in the armed forces and Superintendent in British policing), and Police Directors (rank equivalent to Colonel and Chief Superintendent, respectively) may serve as subdivision directors. Police Directorates of Regional Units are typically commanded by Police Directors and Brigadier Generals, while General Regional Police Directorates and the Divisions of the Hellenic Police Headquarters are led by Brigadier Generals or Major Generals.
There are only five Lieutenant Generals in the Hellenic Police: the Chief of the Hellenic Police, the two Deputy Chiefs, and the General Police Coordinators of Northern Greece and Southern Greece. The Hellenic Police does not employ four- or five-star general ranks.
While salaries for Police Officers used to be calculated mainly based on their rank, ever since October 1st 2025, their active years on the force became the main factor for their starting salary, with extra benefits for officers holding a position of high responsibility and/or high risk & of special work conditions. Rank still plays a role however, since the Base Salaries are multiplied by a factor ranging from 1,00 to 1,80 depending on the Officer's rank.
Below are theGross Base Salaries for Police Officers, as they increase by the Active Years on the Force, and broken into 4 Categories based on how the Officer entered the Force:
| Active Years on the Force | Category A | Category B | Category C | Category D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | €1320 | €1145 | €1100 | €1100 |
| 3-5 | €1410 | €1185 | €1160 | €1160 |
| 5-7 | €1500 | €1238 | €1201 | €1195 |
| 7-9 | €1560 | €1984 | €1243 | €1231 |
| 9-11 | €1622 | €1352 | €1287 | €1268 |
| 11-13 | €1687 | €1413 | €1332 | €1306 |
| 13-15 | €1754 | €1477 | €1380 | €1345 |
| 15-17 | €1824 | €1543 | €1449 | €1385 |
| 17-19 | €1897 | €1612 | €1521 | €1427 |
| 19-21 | €1992 | €1697 | €1600 | €1469 |
| 21-23 | €2092 | €1765 | €1656 | €1514 |
| 23-25 | €2207 | €1836 | €1714 | €1559 |
| 25-27 | €2328 | €1909 | €1774 | €1606 |
| 27-29 | €2456 | €1985 | €1836 | €1654 |
| 29-31 | €2600 | €2064 | €1900 | €1703 |
| 31-33 | €2740 | €2147 | €1967 | €1755 |
| 33-35 | €2822 | €2211 | €2036 | €1807 |
| 35-37 | €2878 | €2255 | €2107 | €1861 |
| 37-39 | €2936 | €2300 | €2149 | €1917 |
| 39+ | €3000 | €2346 | €2192 | €1975 |
Below are theMaximum Extra Benefits that Officers in Positions of High Responsibility and/or High Risk & Of Special Work Conditions can receive. A Position of High Responsibility is defined as being in Command of a Police Service (Unit, Office, Department, Precinct, Subdivision, Division, Directorate) or holding the Rank of Lt. General and is reserved for Officers with rank of Captain I or above. A Position of High Risk & Of Special Work Conditions has a looser definition, allowing Officers of all Ranks to get it as long as they don't hold an exclusively Administrative Position, excluding of course Police Generals and Commanding Officers, whose jobs are, by definition, administrative. In other words, a Captain I who is the Commanding Officer of a Precinct will get both benefits, while an officer of the same, or even higher rank, who has an administrative position in the Chief's Office for example, will get neither.
| Rank | Benefit of High Risk & Of Special Work Conditions + Benefit of High Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Special Guard/Border Guard | €205 |
| Police Constable | €155 |
| Police Deputy Sergeant | €180 |
| Police Sergeant | €190 |
| Police Deputy Lieutenant | €200 |
| Police Lieutenant II | €220 |
| Police Lieutenant I | €230 |
| Police Captain II | €260 |
| Police Captain I | €325 + €100 |
| Police Deputy Director | €415 + €150 |
| Police Director | €425 + €200 |
| Police Brigadier General | €435 + €300 |
| Police Major General | €440 + €350 |
| Police Lieutenant General | €460 + €400 |
| Deputy Chiefs of the Hellenic Police | €470 + €500 |
| Chief of the Hellenic Police | €490 + €600 |
On top of that, every officer receives an extra€70 per month for each of their underage children as well as€3.33 extra per hour during night shifts and€46 for every day they are called to work past their 5-day week.[62]
So for example, a Patrol Sergeant who graduated from the School of Police Constables, has 10 years on the job, has 2 kids and works 2 Night Shifts per week, will receive a Gross Salary of approximately€2000 (equating to a Net Salary of ~€1500 after income tax and social security payment are deduced), while a Police Captain I who Graduated from the School of Police Commissioned Officers, has 15 years on the job, has 1 kid, and is the Commanding Officer of a Precinct will get a Gross Salary of approximately€2370. (equating to a Net Salary of ~€1860)
The Internal Affairs Division (Δ.Ε.Υ. – Διεύθυνση Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων –Dieufthinsi Esoterikon Hypotheseon) used to be a Special Investigation Service under the Chief of Police with nationwide jurisdiction. However, in 2020, with law 4662/2020,[63] it transitioned into an isolated and independent Service, which exists and acts outside of Police hierarchy and is completely and exclusively overseen by the Minister of Citizen Protection to avoid corruption. It still employees Police personnel rather than third-party investigators however and is currently headed by Police Brig. General Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos.
It has also been renamed to Internal Affairs Service of Security Forces (Υ.Ε.Υ.Σ.Α. – Υπηρεσία Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων Σωμάτων Ασφαλείας –Ypiresia Esoterikon Ypotheseon Somaton Asfalias) and has jurisdiction over all 3 Security Forces of the Hellenic Republic (Hellenic Police, Hellenic Fire Service and Hellenic Coast Guard).
Citizens can file a report to the Service, anonymously or not, in order to report criminal acts committed by Police, Fire Service and Coast Guard personnel (e.g. domestic violence, narcotics trafficking etc).[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74]
However, citizen complaints regarding abuse of power, police brutality and breach of duty are handled by the Division of Ethics and Internal Inspections (Δ.Δ.Ε.Ε. - Διεύθυνση Δεοντολογίας και Εσωτερικών Ελέγχων), a service which is supervised directly by the Chief of Police and is currently being headed by Brig. Gen. Anastasia Lazari. This Division comprises the following Departments:
It conducts background checks before admitting citizens to the Police Academy, as well as at regular intervals throughout their police career. It is also responsible with maintaining and updating the Hellenic Police's Code of Conduct and training officers about how to follow it and not fall into pitfalls of corruption they may come across during their career.
14 Disciplinary Inspections Departments are currently operating in all General Regional Police Directorates of the country and are tasked with conducting Disciplinary Inspections towards officers who have been accused of abusing their power.
as well as 2 support Departments (Disciplinary Inspections Control Department and Disciplinary Councils Administrative Support Department).
Additionally, there exist 2 more Internal Inspection Services: The Office of Personal Data Protection (Γραφείο Προστασίας Δεδομένων Προσωπικού Χαρακτήρα), which is overseen by the Chief of Police and inspects the Hellenic Police's compliance with theEU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR 2016/679) and the Financial Inspection Division (Δ.Ο.Ε. - Διεύθυνση Οικονομικής Επιθεώρησης), which is overseen by the Second Deputy Chief (Deputy of Staff) and ensures the legal budget and gear allocation management of all central and regional services of the Hellenic Police and the Ministry of Citizen Protection.
| Hellenic Police Academy | |
|---|---|
| Αστυνομική Ακαδημία | |
| Active | 1994 (1994)–present |
| Country |  Greece |
| Agency | Hellenic Police |
| Type | Police academy |
| Part of | Ministry of Citizen Protection |
| Headquarters | Thrakomakedonon 101, Acharnes,Athens 38°07′15″N23°44′42″E / 38.12071524903326°N 23.744995501007537°E /38.12071524903326; 23.744995501007537 |
| Structure | |
| Schools |
|
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Brigadier General Georgios Zacharis |
| Website | |
| www.astynomia.gr | |
The Hellenic Police Academy in its current form was established in 1994 with the voting of law 2226/1994 throughParliament. It is situated in Athens and is directly under the jurisdiction of theMinister of Citizen Protection. However the Chief of Police, as well as the Director of the Academy — currently Brig. Gen. Georgios Zacharis — can make recommendations and act as advisors to the Minister regarding improvements and other issues (for example structural reform) pertaining to the academy. The Minister and the Chief make annual speeches at the academy to prospective Police Officers. The school is made up of university professors, special scientists (for areas such as forensics) and high-ranking police officers who have specialist field experience. Entrance to the academy is based onPanhellenic Examinations (which are university level entrance examinations), passing specific athletic requirements and an interview, though it differs depending on which particular school of the academy the student wishes to join.[75][76][77] The budget forFY 2025 was 2.250.000€.[78]
The Police Academy includes:
The Hellenic Police has a basic requirement of knowledge which is applied to all positions within the agency. These are the protection of the Constitution as well as the tackling of criminal activities and assisting in disaster situations. The emphasis during training on the support and protection of children is such, that a number of highly successful individuals that were raised as orphans, have stated that they could not say with certainty that they would make it all the way to the top, without the social service that the Hellenic Police provided to them during their childhood.[86]
Cadets spent their Winter Semesters in classes and field training at the academy, but during Spring Semesters, they are assigned to different Precincts where they can apply their knowledge out in the field, so they can be ready for duty once they become sworn Police Officers.
The personnel who are hired as Police Special Guards and Border Guards (and can later be promoted to police officers after eight years of service and reach up to the rank of Lieutenant I) receive three months of training. Special guards mainly have patrolling and guarding duties, serving either in Precincts, Immediate Response Departments, Prisoner Transport-Courtroom Police Departments or the central President and Government Officials Protection General Division.[87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94]
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Right after the formation of the unified Hellenic Police in October 1984, the previous chiefs of the Hellenic Gendarmerie, Emmanouil Brillakis, and the Cities Police, Panagiotis Raftopoulos, acted as co-Chiefs of the new force for its embryonic first 4 months. The first Chief of the Hellenic Police was chosen in February 1985 and ever since the formation of the Governmental Council of External Affairs and National Defense (ΚΥ.Σ.Ε.Α.) in 1986, new Police Chiefs have been elected by that Council. All Chiefs have had the rank of Lieutenant General and can stay in that role for a maximum of 3 years.
| Assumption of Duties | Last Day in Office | Chief of the Hellenic Police |
| February 2, 1985 | April 28, 1986 | Georgios Romosios |
| April 28, 1986 | December 23, 1986 | John Stavrakas |
| December 23, 1986 | April 13, 1988 | Nikon Arkoudeas |
| April 13, 1988 | July 5, 1989 | Andreas Kalogeras |
| July 5, 1989 | March 4, 1991 | John Antonopoulos |
| March 4, 1991 | March 3, 1992 | John Symvoulidis |
| March 3, 1992 | March 6, 1993 | Stephanos Makris |
| March 6, 1993 | November 3, 1993 | Anthonios Lambadiaris |
| November 3, 1993 | March 6, 1996 | Emmanouil Chourdakis |
| March 6, 1996 | September 25, 1998 | Athanasios Basilopoulos |
| September 25, 1998 | August 2, 2001 | John Georgakopoulos |
| August 2, 2001 | October 5, 2004 | Photios Nasiakos |
| October 5, 2004 | February 28, 2006 | Georgios Aggelakos |
| February 28, 2006 | February 27, 2008 | Anastasios Dimoschakis |
| February 27, 2008 | October 22, 2009 | Basileios Tsiatouras |
| October 22, 2009 | October 17, 2011 | Eleutherios Oikonomou |
| October 17, 2011 | April 9, 2014 | Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos |
| April 9, 2014 | February 16, 2016 | Dimitrios Tsaknakis |
| February 16, 2016 | August 5, 2018 | Konstantinos Tsouvalas |
| August 5, 2018 | July 10, 2019 | Aristeidis Andrikopoulos |
| July 10, 2019 | March 31, 2022 | Michael Karamanlakis |
| March 31, 2022 | March 18, 2023 | Konstantinos Skoumas |
| March 18, 2023 | January 16, 2024 | Lazaros Mavropoulos |
| January 16, 2024 | Present | Dimitrios Mallios |
Female Police Officers comprise ~15% of the Force's total sworn personnel and are given equal treatment in terms of salaries, education and training, duties as well as the gear they bear compared to male officers.
The first time women joined Greece's law enforcement agencies was in 1969 when 45 female Constables were hired for the Cities Police, mainly for administrative and dispatch duties. 2 years later, in 1971, the first 25 women were hired by the Hellenic Gendarmerie. Then in 1983, 1 year before the current Hellenic Police force was founded, women were first allowed to join the School of Commissioned Police Officers of the Cities Police Academy and graduate with the rank of Police Lieutenant II.
However, the maximum number of women who could be accepted at the school was 10% of the total open positions. This changed in 2003, allowing men and women to have equal chances to be accepted in the Hellenic Police Academy.
It was 1 year before that, in 2002, when Greece became the first country in Europe to have a female officer reach the rank Police Major General. As of 2026, out of 90 Brigadier Generals, 22 are women, although there have been no female Major Generals ever since the retirement of Dr. Pinelopi Miniati, the former Director of the Forensic Investigations Division, in 2021. Additionally, a woman has never held the rank of Lieutenant General in Hellenic Police history.
As of April 28, 2025, 9,422 sworn female officers serve in the Hellenic Police (a 12% increase compared to 2023) with more than 100 of them serving as Commanding Officers of Departments, Precincts, Offices and Units, 145 of them serving in the Government Officials Protection General Division, 73 of them serving in the Counter-Terrorism Division, 4 of them serving in Bomb Squad Units and 4 of them serving in the Hellenic Police Air Force Division.
Most of them however serve in some kind of Investigative Service (Special Investigative Divisions, Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivisions/Departments and Investigations Offices) (1807*), Traffic Police (748*), in various positions at the Hellenic Police HQ (459*) and the Forensic Investigations Division as Scientists (262*). [*Stats are all as of April 28, 2025][95]
Source:[96]
The most common police vehicles in Greece are the white with blue stripesCitroën Xsara,Škoda Octavia,Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X,Hyundai i30,Citroën C4,Citroën C4 Picasso,Suzuki SX4,Jeep Liberty,Peugeot 308,Volkswagen Golf, andNissan Qashqai. Other vehicles that Greek Police has used throughout the years are the following:
The original livery featured white roofs and doors, with the rest of the bodyshell in dark blue. The current livery was first introduced on the Citroën ZX's, although the blue stripe on the earlier models was not reflective; this gave birth to the nickname "stroumfakia" (smurfs) for the Hellenic Police.
Most Greek police vehicles are equipped with a customized Car PC, which offers GPS guidance and is connected directly with the Hellenic "Police On Line" network.
A number of police vehicles are being modified to be equipped with onboard surveillance cameras. A number of portable body-worn cameras are also sometimes used by the Immediate Response patrol officers (car patrol, ΔΙ.ΑΣ.), Crime Prevention and Suppression Groups (Ο.Π.Κ.Ε.) officers, motorcycle police unit ΔΡΑΣΗ ("Action") officers, as well as riot police (MAT) officers.[97][98][99][100][101]
The police uses confiscated vehicles, primarily for intercepting street races and addressing other traffic violations.[102] The vehicles in question, which have been used for criminal activities and subsequently confiscated, can be granted either free of charge or in exchange for financial compensation to the police.[103]
Though there was what constituted a police force under the provisional Government of Greece during theGreek War of Independence, the first organized police force in Greece was theGreek Gendarmerie which was established in 1833 after the enthronement ofKing Otto. It was at that time, formally, part of thearmy and under the authority of theDefence Ministry (later the entirety of the organization including the Police Academy was brought under its authority). A city police force was also established but its role remained a secondary one in comparison to the Army's role (mainly dealing with illegal gambling, a severe problem at the time). Several foreign advisers (particularly fromBavaria, which emphasized elements of centralization and authoritarianism), were also brought in to provide training and tactical advice to the newly formed Police force. The main task of the police force under the army as a whole during this period was firstly to combat theft but also to contribute to the establishment of a strong executive government.
The army's links to the police and the nature of the structure of the police force and its hierarchy (that of being similar to the army) was maintained throughout the 19th century for a number of reasons. Largely the socio-political unrest that characterized the period including disproportionate poverty, governmental oppression, sporadic rebellions and political instability. As a result of this, as well as the input of the armed forces, the police force remained a largely conservative body throughout the period, while there was also a certain amount of politicization during training as the police force were trained in military camps.
In 1906 the Greek police force underwent its first major restructuring at an administrative level. It acquired its own educational and training facilities independent of those of the army (though still remaining titularly part of the armed forces), but due to its involvement in theMacedonian Struggle, and theBalkan andFirst World Wars, it tended to neglect civilian matters and was partially unresponsive to the needs of Greek society at the time. However, together with the establishment of a civiliancity police force forCorfu city in 1920 (which would eventually be expanded to the entire country), it set a precedent for further change that came in 1935 because of rapid technological, demographic and economic changes which helped it become more responsive to civilian policing needs of the time.
However, modernization of the police force was stunted by the successive periods of political instability. The dictatorship ofIoannis Metaxas, compounded with both the Second World War and theGreek Civil War led to a retardation of reform throughout the late 1930s and early to mid-1940s. After the war, however, British experts were brought in to help reform the police along the lines of theBritish Police and, as a result, the police force ceased to be a part of theDefence Ministry after 1946. Even then, however, it did not abandon its military features and was still prevalently a military-based institution. The civil war of the period also contributed to excess violence on both sides (government forces and the guerillas of the communist-ledDemocratic Army of Greece).[105] Torture and abuse of human rights were widespread especially during the early periods of the war when parts of the country were in a state of near lawlessness. Despite this, after the war, the police force did reach a respectable level of civilian policing throughout the mid-1960s, which was once again stunted by themilitary dictatorship of the Colonels from 1967 to 1974, when it was largely employed to quel popular discontent along with theGreek Military Police (ESA).
After the fall of the Colonels, Greece became a republic and the infamous ESA was cleansed of torturers and renamed the Military Police (SN). The organization of regular police forces remained unchanged up until the ruse to powee ofPASOK, which had sought to "democratize" the security forces.[106] Despite strong opposition from both the Gendarmerie and the Cities Police,[107] in 1984 both were merged into a single unified Hellenic Police Force which maintained elements of a military structure and hierarchy. The new mega-scheme also initially incorporated the Rural Police (Greek:Ελληνική Αγροφυλακή) as community wardens,[108] which was later (1986) turned over to theprefectures,[109] but not theHellenic Fire Service due to widespread unrest in the Service.[110][111] The Hellenic Police also undertook the duties of theNational Security Service and incorporated joint Gendarmerie-Cities Police services like the Directorate of Forensics.[112]
Because of the long tradition of militaristic elements within the structure of the police even theCouncil of State of Greece ruled that the police should be regarded as a military body and that members are not civilians but members of the military engaged in a wider role together with theArmed Forces to supplement the Army in defense of the homeland. This however, has in recent years been relegated to policing duties such as border patrols and combatingillegal immigration and is not reflective of any de facto military duties outside of that of a defensive role in the event of an invasion. Today the Hellenic Police assists in training various emerging Eastern European and African police forces and Greece has one of the lowest crime rates within theEuropean Union.
Since 2012, the Hellenic Police has operated the CyberKid website and the synonymousmobile application, which aims to provide useful information to children and their parents about using the internet.[113] In 2013, theCyber Crime Unit of the Hellenic Police, under the auspices of theMinistry of Citizen Protection, organised a number of conferences[114][115] to inform kids and parents about the dangers that a child can have while using the internet.[116][117]
A significant part of the training for all officers is protection and safeguarding of children, and any form of child abuse is faced with a "Zero Tolerance" policy.[citation needed]
Additionally, the Hellenic Police has shown active support to theChildren's Smile (Greek:Το Χαμόγελο του Παιδιού) a non-profit organization, via a financial donation[118] and the assurance that theagency was, is, and will remain "for life" an active supporter of the organization.
A free of charge digitalapplication called Panic Button,[119][120][121][122][123][124] which operates24 hours a day, was introduced in Attica and Thessaloniki on March 27, 2023, and has since become available throughout the country. Installed onsmartphones, its aim is to allow police to immediately intervene in incidents of domestic violence against women.[125][126] By pressing a button, it automatically sends a short text message to the police or other special services, and it locates where the user is through the phone'sGlobal Positioning System (GPS). The application can be provided by the Domestic Violence Offices which currently operate in 63 Police Precincts around the country, as well as counseling centers of the network under the General Secretariat of Demographic and Family Policy and Equality of the Sexes at theMinistry of Labour and Social Affairs in Attica and Thessaloniki.
On November 11, 2024, a similarapplication was launched on theGoogle Play Store and theApp Store called Safe Youth which includes an emergency panic button for kids who are in danger, an anonymous form to report crimes against underage individuals as well as informational articles about social problems and crimes the youth should be aware and cautious about (drugs, sexual abuse and rape, bullying etc.).
There are several current issues affecting the police in Greece today. Of particular importance is the rise in drug related crimes, sometimes attributed to increased immigration fromAlbania and other formerEastern Bloc countries. This has particularly affectedAthens (and specifically,Omonoia Square), which has become a central point for drug-related activities within Greece.[127]
Illegal immigration is also a problem as Greece remains both a destination and transit point for illegal immigrants, particularly fromAlbania (and, increasingly, African and Asian countries).[128] There has been an effort in recent years to step up the security procedures along Greece's borders, although some[who?] allege the government's approach has been heavy-handed.[citation needed] The issue of the recruitment of immigrants has also been brought up by oppositionPASOK MPs in Parliament several times.
During a check on four persons in the area ofAmarousiou on 22 November 2021 by motorcycle police unit DIAS officers, in particular the procedure ofidentity document (ID) checks and body search after having first ordered from them to place out the items who carry with them, they founddrugs.[129][130] Among the persons was reportedly Dimitris Theodorikakos son ofCitizen Protection Minister Panagiotis (Takis) Theodorikakos.[131][132][133][134][135][136] The revelation made by a retired police brigadier and the newspaper journalist and police editor ofTa Nea andTo Vima Vasilis Labropoulos onMega TV's Mega Gegonota news[137] on 2 February 2023 where it presents photographs from the drugs and recording of data of four, referring to the Panagiotis Theodorikakos who reportedly had done intervention in order to cover up and manipulate the case file, to destroy incriminating evidences and material, and to avoid arrest and transfer before a prosecutor. Vasilis Labropoulos commented that "Mega TV and other media had not have intention to refer who is the person checked, hence they referred only [they did not name who are] from the surrounding of mister Theodorikakos. The revelation of person who is his son he is himself revealed the minister [Panagiotis Theodorikakos]".[138][139][140][141][142]
Panagiotis (Takis) Theodorikakos announced he will file a criminal complaint[143][144] against the retired police brigadier and Vasilis Labropoulos. Also Dimitris Theodorikakos and former Chief of Hellenic Police Michail Karamalakis[145][146][147] announced they will file a criminal complaint against the retired police brigadier.[148][149]
According to some organizations Greek police have been accused of overt and, generally unpunished, brutality, in specific cases like after the2008 Greek riots and during the2010–2012 Greek protests sparked by theGreek government-debt crisis.Amnesty international has issued a detailed report[150] on police violence in Greece, concerning its practices in patrolling demonstrations, treatment of illegal immigrants, and other, while theHuman Rights Watch has criticized the organization concerning its stance against immigrants[151][152] and allegations of torture of detainees[153] and theReporters Without Borders have accused the police of deliberately targeting journalists.[154]
Furthermore, it has been accused of allegedly planting evidence on detainees[155][156] and mistreatment of arrested individuals. A 29-year-old Cypriot man, Avgoustinos Dimitriou, has been awarded €300,000 in damages following his videotaped beating by plainclothed police officers during a 2006 demonstration inThessaloniki.[157][158][159][160]
In November 2019,Amnesty International made a report regarding the police violence and the use of torture methods.[161] In 2020, 26-year-old Vasilis Maggos fromVolos, was found dead one month after his arrest (during an environmental demonstration) and his beating by police officers that caused him serious organ damage.[162][163][164] In April 2024 criminal prosecution was brought against six officers of theMagnesia Police Department, among others, on the charge ofcomplicity and serialtorture.[165]
In 2021, theBorder Violence Monitoring Network published a report into the use of torture and inhuman treatment duringpushbacks by Greek police.[166][167][168] They assert that:
AEK fan 29-year-old Greek Michalis Katsouris was stabbed multiple times and died shortly after in hospital, when in the late hours on 7 August 2023 a group of around 100-120hooligans supporters ofDinamo Zagreb, reportedly met up with members-accomplices of an affiliatedAthens club at a pre-arranged location and together made their way by car and train to AEK's stadium in Nea Filadelfia, went to Perissos, where fans ofAEK were assembled in the broader vicinity.[169][170][171]Clashes ensued between the two groups, which threw flares, makeshift explosives, projectiles and rocks, and used makeshift clubs.[172] Hellenic Police have come under criticism for allowing the Dinamo Zagreb fans to assemble near the stadium and not stopping the brawl, intended to prevent the murder that occurred.[173][174][175][176][177]
A prosecutor has ordered a preliminary investigation into an incident which occurred onAkadimias Street in Athens on 16 March 2023 during thegeneral strike where a police tow truck drove at high speed into dumpsters that were being wheeled into the middle of a street by protestors.[178][179][180]
Four police officers were arrested on 11 March 2023, include a higher officer, two lower-ranking policemen and a member of the Special Guard unit were responsible for guarding and transferring detainees, for allegedly beating and torturing a detainee.[181]
On December 5, 2022, in Thessaloniki a 16-year-oldRoma youth was fatally shot in the head by a 34-year-old motorcycle police unit DIAS officer involved in a chase after the teenager allegedly filled up his pickup truck at a gas station and left without paying the 20 euro bill triggered days of often violent protests in the Thessaloniki and Athens and other parts of Greece. He had been hospitalized for more than a week but he died on 13 December 2022.[182][183][184][185]
Two motorcycle police unit DIAS officers, aged 24 and 27, were charged with raping a 19-year-old woman inOmonoia Police Station on 12 October 2022.[186]
Adisabled woman brutalized by two policemen at the Omonia Police Station on 29 October 2019, Hellenic Police (ELAS) confirmed the violent incident.[187][188][189]
A special police guard Epaminondas Korkoneaskilled 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos on the night of December 6, 2008, following a verbal altercation with the teenager and his friends.[190][191][192][193][194][195][196][197]
Michalis Kaltezas 15-year-old was fatally shot at the back of his head by the 27-year-old police officer Athanasios Melistas[198][199][200][201] on 17 November 1985 during the annual17 November protests remembrance day.
Iakovos Koumis (SoriraAmmochostos, 1956 –Athens, 23 November 1980) was a Cypriot law student who was fatally injured, along with 20-year-old worker Stamatina Kanellopoulou, by thePolice Riot Units (M.A.T.) on 16 November 1980 during the annual17 November protests remembrance day.[202][203][198]
In 2012,Syriza political party, disagreed with the measures taken by the State authorities and the police against illegal immigration.[204]
At early November 2012, the Minister of Public Order,Nikos Dendias, accused various MPs of theCoalition of Radical Left of "impersonating authority". According to the accusations, on 7 November 2012 the members of the party stopped a number of policemen while they were on duty, in apublic protest, in order to check their credentials. Moreover, they took photographs of theplainclothes police officers and uploaded them on the internet site of the party (left.gr).[205][206][207] The accusations prompted an angry reply from the party's spokesperson, who replied that they are "dirty accusations".[208][209]
In a 1998 interview with the newspaperEleftherotypia,Minister for Public Order Georgios Romaios (PASOK) alleged the existence of "fascist elements in theGreek police", and vowed to suppress them.[210]
Before the surrender of Androutsopoulos, an article by the newspaperTa Nea claimed that theneo-Nazi political partyGolden Dawn had close relationships with some parts of the Greek police force.[211] Since the 1990s, the Hellenic Police has been condemned for the association of many of its officers with the far right movement, in particular theGolden Dawn party.
The newspaper published then a photograph of a typewritten paragraph with no identifiable insignia as evidence of the secret investigation. In the article, the Minister for Public Order,Michalis Chrysochoidis, responded that he did not recollect such a probe. Chrysochoidis also denied accusations that far right connections within the police force delayed the arrest of Periandros. He said that leftist groups, including the ultra-left anti-state resistance group17 November, responsible for several murders, had similarly evaded the police for decades. In both cases, he attributed the failures to "stupidity and incompetence" on behalf of the force.[211]
Golden Dawn stated that rumors about the organisation having connections to the Greek police and the government are untrue, and that the police had intervened in Golden Dawn's rallies and had arrested members of the Party several times while theNew Democracy party was in power (for example, during a rally in Thessaloniki in June 2006, and at a rally for the anniversary of theGreek genocide, in Athens, also in 2006). Also, on January 2, 2005,anti-fascist andleftist groups invaded Golden Dawn's headquarters in Thessaloniki, under heavy police surveillance. Although riot police units were near the entrance of the building alongside the intruders, they allegedly did not attempt to stop their actions.[212]
The "communicating vessels" between Police and Neo-Nazis resurfaced on the occasion of the riot that broke out during a protest on march June 28, 2011, when squads of riot police rushed to protect agents provocateurs[213] isolated by the angry crowd, two of them A. Soukaras and A. Koumoutsos both unionists of ETHEL(ΕΘΕΛ) well known for both their extreme opinions, as well as their frequent presence in riots.[214]
In July 2012, it was reported thatNils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, had placed the alleged ties of Greek Police and Golden Dawn under scrutiny,[215] following reports of the Greek state's continued failure to acknowledge the problem.[216][217]
According to political analyst Paschos Mandravelis, "A lot of the party's backing comes from the police, young recruits who are a-political and know nothing about the Nazis or Hitler. For them, Golden Dawn supporters are their only allies on the frontline when there are clashes between riot police and leftists.[218]
Following theMay 6, 2012 Greek Parliamentary election, in which Golden Dawn entered the Greek parliament, it was said that more than one out of two police officers voted for the party in districts adjacent to Athens'Attica General Police Directorate.[219] The Hellenic Police falsified those claims, some of their arguments were that "The Hellenic Police falsified those claims, some of their arguments were that "the Special Electoral Lists also included civilians and people who reside in municipalities that are different from the municipalities that are registered in their elector lists, a big number of civilians and of non-civilians include, other categories of civil servants (army, navy, airforce, coast guard, firefighting staff, etc.), while in addition many police officers vote in their local constituencies." and "1048th electoral department of the 7th District of the Municipality of Athens, in which motorcycle police unit DIAS officers / Attica Directorate of Immediate Response exercised their right to vote, golden dawn also gained 11%, ranking third (as in national elections). Finally, in the vast majority of polling stations, in which police officers also voted during the European elections, in various areas (Kaisariani, Ampelokipi, etc.) golden dawn ranked third[220][221][222] Since the election, Greek police officers have been implicated in violent incidents between Golden Dawn members and migrants. In September, one police officer was suspended for participating in a Golden Dawn raid against migrant-owned kiosks in an open market at Mesolongi; seven other officers were identified.[223] Anti-fascist demonstrators were allegedly tortured in police custody that same month.[224] In October, Greek police allegedly stood by while Golden Dawn members attacked a theater holding a production of the controversial playCorpus Christi.[225][226]
The Police Action for Human Rights union founded, in 2018 inAthens, to protect the rights ofLGBT and female police officers. Some of their basic principles are the protection of human rights, the fight against prejudice and discrimination and the equal treatment of all citizens.[227][228][229] The union has participated in events, against homophobia and racism in support of human rights, of the Athens Police Officers Association and representatives in the Panhellenic Federation of Police Employees.[230][231] They have also participated in the pride together with those who belong to the Democratic Union Police Movement (DEKA), of the Athens Police Officers Association and representatives in the Panhellenic Federation of Police Employees.[232][233]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)Η αστυνομία έχει κατασχέσει και άλλα οχήματα που είναι πλέον υπό τη διάθεση των αρμοδίων υπηρεσιών για ανάλογη χρήση, όπως μέρος των προσπαθειών να παταχθούν οι παράνομοι αγώνες και άλλες οδικές παραβάσεις. Παράλληλα, αναφέρεται ότι τα κατασχεμένα οχήματα χρησιμοποιούνται για να ενισχύσουν την ομάδα "Σίγμα", η οποία επαναλειτουργεί. Η συγκεκριμένη Cayenne, διαθέτιε (sic)... πολιτικά χρώματα και νούμερα, όντας απόλυτα καμουφλαρισμένη και... αόρατη για τους απανταχού κοντράκηδες και όχι μόνο.[The police have seized other vehicles as well, which are now at the disposal of the relevant authorities for similar use, as part of efforts to crack down on illegal street races and other traffic violations. At the same time, it is reported that the confiscated vehicles are being used to strengthen the "Sigma" team, which has resumed operations. This particular Cayenne features... civilian colors and plates, making it perfectly camouflaged and... virtually invisible to street racers and others alike.]
Τα δεσμευμένα κινητά περιουσιακά στοιχεία μπορούν να διατίθενται, είτε δωρεάν, είτε έναντι ανταλλάγματος σε φορείς του δημόσιου τομέα σώματα ασφαλείας, Οργανώσεις Κοινωνίας των Πολιτών και Κοινωφελείς Φορείς για την κάλυψη των λειτουργικών αναγκών τους.[Seized movable assets can be allocated either free of charge or in exchange for compensation to public sector entities, law enforcement agencies, Civil Society Organizations, and Non-Profit Institutions to meet their operational needs.]
Δέκα χρόνια μετά, ο Αυγουστίνος Δημητρίου δικαιώνεται για την πολύκροτη υπόθεση αστυνομικής βίας εναντίον του στη Θεσσαλονίκη
O ροπαλοφόρος της «Xρυσής Aυγής» Αντώνης Ανδρουτσόπουλος κυκλοφορεί ελεύθερος έξι χρόνια λόγω των διασυνδέσεών του με αξιωματικούς της EΛ.AΣ. Απόρρητα δελτία αποκαλύπτουν ότι ποτέ δεν έφυγε από την Ελλάδα
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