Filenews 2 May 2023 - by Marios Demetriou
While the family of the 71-year-old businessman is still trying to emotionally manage the harsh experience he experienced from the invasion of their home in Larnaca in the early morning of April 19, 2023 by a gang of hitherto unfathomable, masked robbers in the early morning of April 19 and the seizure of thousands of euros and precious jewellery, there is intense concern in public opinion about the increased frequency of violent crimes recently in Cyprus. The son of the victims appeals to the police through "F" to speed up the investigation of this shocking attack, during which the perpetrators injured both his father and mother. He said they should not go unpunished, but should be arrested and brought to justice.
We note that on April 20, just the next day, two masked men broke into a courier store in Lakatamia and at the threat of a knife and a steel pole, attacked one of the employees and stole money from the cashier. Two days later, a 21-year-old man who had been wanted since the day after the crime was arrested.
"There has indeed been an upward trend in violent crime over the last three years, both in Cyprus and internationally," Dr Vasiliki Christodoulou, lecturer in Psychology at UCLan Cyprus, told F. He added that "unfortunately many young people are recruited from an early age into criminal networks." He cited as examples of violent crime in Cyprus, the murder of a 60-year-old teacher and the 59-year-old wife of a bank employee in 2018 during a raid inside their home in Strovolos by a gang of young robbers using cocaine and other substances. He also mentioned the recent murder (in January 2023) of a 60-year-old man in a refugee settlement in Latsia by a group of young people who attacked and beat him to death without even knowing him, after an argument between a friend of theirs and him, on a matter that did not concern them – and who after the beating, went... for beers in a neighbouring café...
Dr. Andreas Kapardis, professor emeritus of the Universities of Cyprus and Cambridge in Britain, expressed his concern that there will be an even greater increase in violent crime on the island, speaking of "the failure of the system to take measures in time".
On his part, the spokesman of the Police, senior lieutenant Christos Andreou, referred to the high percentage of cases solved. "As the police," he told F, "we are sparing in our public statements to the media during the investigation of the cases, so as not to give information to the perpetrators that will make it easier for them to evade arrest. And because we do not say something, people get the impression that we have a weakness in the matter, when that is not the case. We try to do our best, but citizens should also take care of their property, but also inform the Police, even anonymously, of anything suspicious they observe. There must be cooperation between citizens and the police, without, of course, wanting to make a police state..."
When the masked men beat...
From a rough record of violent robberies and thefts in the first months of 2023 and in 2022, we note the following: On April 13, 2023, they robbed for the third time (!) the same kiosk in Chloraka, when a masked man attacked the employee and grabbed €100 that he found at the cash register. On March 3, 2023, two masked men entered an auxiliary house in Polis Chrysochous, immobilized a domestic worker, put a knife to her throat, threw caustic liquid in her face, tied her hand and foot, gagged her and took away €60 that she had in her purse. On March 2, 2023 in Nicosia, a taxi passenger at knifepoint snatched from the driver his mobile phone and amount of money and injured him in the shoulder blade with the knife. On January 22, 2023, Sunday night, two masked robbers entered a supermarket in Kissonerga and grabbed €220 that they found at the cash register. On January 3, 2023 at dawn, a masked robber was caught red-handed in Ayia Napa who broke into a pharmacy armed with an iron bar and stole €80. On July 17, 2022, two masked men broke into a village kiosk in Famagusta district at night and, pointing a pistol at the employee, snatched money from the cash register. They were arrested ten days later. On June 12, 2022, two masked gunmen entered the home of a 72-year-old man in a Paphos village and took his money and watch at gunpoint. An 18-year-old was arrested in connection with the case three months later. It is noted that there is a high percentage of detection, but serious crime continues to have an increasing trend, according to police data, of the last three years 2020-2022. Total registered serious crime cases in the Crime Register (RCI) are 5402 in 2022 (with a detection rate of 75.95%) compared to 4429 in 2021 (with a detection rate of 74.08%) and 3984 in 2020 (with a detection rate of 70.58%). In particular, registered cases for offences against a person amount to 252 in 2022, compared to 229 in 2020. For property offences, 2134 cases were registered in 2022, compared to 1643 in 2020. For malicious damage to property, 265 cases were registered in 2022, compared to 262 in 2020. For offences relating to narcotic drugs and other psychotropic substances, 1044 cases were registered in 2022, compared to 852 in 2020.
The... stolen from the shadow economy
"Experts are finding evidence of this recent period, similar to the data of the early 1990s in terms of the economy, with rising inflation and lower purchasing value of money, which led to an increase in property crime and serious crime in general in the US," said Dr Vasiliki Christodoulou, lecturer in Psychology at UCLan Cyprus. "This," he added, "is partly explained by the fact that some people's financial needs are not met and they resort to crime to survive.
It is also explained by the fact that in economically difficult circumstances, all people are more "vulnerable" to buy some things at a lower price, without asking where the person selling them found them. For example, a breadwinner whose incomes have fallen goes to a market to buy a mobile phone at a "bargain price" without asking if it is stolen... Therefore, the demand for stolen goods is also increasing, in the context of a shadow economy served by some citizens who cannot meet their basic needs and are "forced" to shop from these illegal sources. The second explanation in the literature is that the recent increase in violent crime is not real and is due to a decrease in previous years due to the pandemic and the strict control that existed."
Antisociality, substances, and more...
Dr. Vasiliki Christodoulou focuses on the factors that lead a person to violent behaviours, explains what a crime of impoverishment is and refers to the factor migrants.
What drives a person to violent behaviour and what are the risk factors for criminal violence?
-Violent crime is multifactorial and some important factors contribute to this, without knowing which of them in each case plays the most decisive role. When a psychologist is asked to evaluate a person for the likelihood of becoming violent in the future, he will ask him some questions and try to make a risk assessment in the near future. There should always be some balance between risk factors and protective factors and thorough suggestions for risk reduction (e.g. psychological therapy) should be made. We will mention some important factors, although our list is not exhaustive.
>A first risk factor that is assessed is the start of interpersonal violence at a young age (e.g. before the age of 12), fights, etc., which increases the risk of later engaging in acts of violence.
>A second factor is the commission of other types of offences, such as theft.
>The third factor is the chaotic, unhealthy and unstable interpersonal relationships that the person may have experienced in their past (e.g. childhood) – family, love, friendship. It is important to assess whether one grew up in a stable or not, family environment, whether one's parents were delinquents themselves, whether one was early on in a peer group involved in illegal activities.
>The fourth factor assessed in an effort to understand the risk of violence is any difficulty in maintaining a stable job. In fact, in the context of recognizing the extreme importance of work to avoid crime, we are currently implementing the European program ReCommit, the aim of which is to develop the necessary interpersonal skills to find and maintain work for released persons.
>The fifth factor to be assessed will be whether there is a history of using substances that may be linked to violent crime – such as alcohol, other stimulants, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, but also legal amphetamines, substances that increase feelings of anger and the likelihood of losing control of one's behaviour while influencing his critical thinking.
>A sixth factor concerns specific, very serious mental disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder, some psychopathic elements, or other mental states related to impulsivity, loss of control, or need to control over another person. These individuals often seem fully functional in their daily lives. However, it is important not to reproduce stigma for people with mental difficulties, since there are studies that show that psychiatric disorders that are not included in the above, are not consistent with increased rates of violence. Therefore, an important risk for violence is whether the person has developed a so-called criminal career, where violence is part of everyday life and therefore its use is considered necessary and normal."
Impoverishment, employment and good relations
Dr. Vasiliki Christodoulou also referred to the "crime of misery". "This can sometimes be violent, but often it is not organized and can involve perpetrators with a strong economic need, even with a migrant-refugee background. If these people had some protective factors in their lives, such as stable resources, a sense of security, the ability to manage traumas they experienced, they would probably not be committing crimes for survival purposes. There are many historical examples of economically degraded or marginalized social groups whose members had engaged in illegal methods until they gradually gained economic strength. It's not about where you're coming from, it's about being hungry."
Do you believe that there are currently protective factors in Cyprus for refugees and migrants?
-The main protective factors are substantial employment and good relations. As far as essential employment is concerned, I think that some measures taken to enable these people to work and, in any case, to facilitate their access to work are very important. As far as healthy relationships are concerned, there are currently some non-governmental organizations including the Red Cross and Hope for Children that do important work by offering support and other programs in migrant accommodation centres and children's homes with the support of Forensic Psychology students of UCLan Cyprus. It is very important that these people feel heard, that they have people around them who care about them, that they are not alone. In order to have our value compass activated, we need to feel that we are part of the whole, that we have social connection.
Organized spirals, structure and action plan
The well-known lawyer in the field of criminal law and protection of human rights Yiannis Polychronis told "F" that the businessman victim of a robbery on April 19 in Larnaca, was apparently the target of an organized gang of robbers. "Such criminal groups," he added, "have a hierarchical structure, a leader who obeys him and an organized plan of action. Of course, they have good training in the required methods of executing the plan – access to the target, causing terror, reaction in case of resistance of the victim, escape plan, external control of the field to avoid detection of the robbery (e.g. thugger(s), vehicle going to the scene, mode of transport and escape plan. The main thing is that they have a way of disposing of stolen goods, when it comes to large amounts or objects of value that have distinct characteristics, so that they are not recognized."
According to Dr Andreas Kapardis Professor Emeritus at the Universities of Cyprus and Cambridge UK, there are three dimensions to changing the scene of serious crime in Cyprus over time. "The first dimension," he said, "concerns drugs. Sometimes robberies are committed by users, to obtain money for their own use or to trade.
The second dimension concerns the new generation of criminals in Cyprus, who in recent years have been "coming out on the branch" much earlier and are more ruthless. The third dimension – and it is not a matter of racism – concerns foreigners who engage in drug trafficking, or who offer protection, or who came to Cyprus from wars and conflicts that have "hardened" them in their homelands and on their way to our island. What needs to be done? Among other things, the prison work of the Central Prisons must be strengthened. We need to go back to the root causes, invest more in tackling the drugs problem - in practice rather than in theory. There is a need to address the needs of users more effectively so that they do not resort to crime, and this will be done by creating more structures for drug rehabilitation.
In terms of prevention, we must start by combating smoking first of all, through the education system, from primary school. There were preventive programs that worked effectively in the past in Cyprus, such as the one called "Communities that care" for which I was responsible, and they addressed the problem at the level of the individual, the school, the family, in cooperation with the Police. The program operated in the years 2006-2011 and was even a good example for Germany that implemented a similar one, based on our model! It operated in the afternoons with the implementation of sports activities and was addressed to students of secondary schools, gymnasiums and lyceums, with the support of the Cyprus Sports Organization, the Municipality of Latsia and some other Municipalities afterwards".
