Filenews 29 June 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivassilis
At 681, the number of vacancies in the Police service, with the leadership of the Corps making continuous efforts to fill them in order to fill the gaps that have been created.
As the Minister of Justice, Stefi Drakou, states in a reply letter to DISY MP Nikos Georgiou, the problem of understaffing of rural stations is interrelated with the general understaffing in the Police and continuous efforts are being made by the leadership to address it. The Minister notes that after studying the duties and needs of each Department / Unit / Service of the Police, we have made a relevant reallocation of the number of members, in order to fill as much as possible any gaps. As she notes, the hiring freeze in the years 2013-2017, the continuous retirements and resignations, the new needs that are created, combined with the long duration of the training of newly hired police officers, which amounts to three years, further complicates the efforts to achieve the full staffing of the rural stations.
As the Minister adds, the number of vacancies in the Police currently stands at 681 and all the necessary actions are being taken to fill them through the recruitment procedures. For this purpose, a recruitment process of police officers and special police officers is underway, which is at the stage where the psychometric tests have been carried out. These examinations have been attended by 368 candidates for police positions and 89 candidates for positions of special police officers. "Because, unsurprisingly, not all existing vacancies will be filled, we will proceed with a new call for tenders as soon as possible," she notes.
Finally, Mrs. Drakou mentions that through the work of reorganizing the Police, which is part of the priorities of the Government and is in progress with a view to completion in 2025, the Police promotes the reassessment of its organizational structure and operation, in order to make it more effective with the rational utilization of resources and personnel. Better management and reallocation of staff will contribute greatly to the full business competence of rural stations as well, she concludes.
