Filenews 24 May 2023
After shooting at vehicles and mobile camera operators and being attacked either verbally or with stones, some have found a way to prevent the system from reporting offending drivers.
Lately, some people park their vehicles directly behind vans carrying mobile cameras, preventing them from taking pictures of offenders. The problem has intensified lately and even those who do, post photos in a specific group on the internet. The issue was criticized yesterday by the assistant director of the Traffic Headquarters, Haris Evripidou, stressing that unfortunately in the past period we saw various actions on the part of the public, especially members of a specific group and other groups that exist on the internet in order to create a problem in the smooth operation of the system.
Several of these cases have already been sent to the competent police departments for investigation, because some of them are accompanied by insults or threats. In fact, he said that 10 cases, mainly of threats against mobile camera operators expressed online, have been forwarded to the courts, adding that where traffic obstruction or any other offense is found, an extrajudicial one is issued.
Mr. Evripidou noted that blocking the camera is not illegal yet, but it is in the recommendations of the Police for the amendment of the legislation on photo-labelling systems, that is, preventing the people who operate these cameras is now considered a criminal offense.
Information from "F" states that the Police also recommend that the managing company be given authority to send the notice of extrajudicial proceedings from the cameras and via sms. Another amendment concerns the registration of data by companies on the driver who broke the law, so that it can be done electronically instead of through letters as is currently the case, in order to save time.
It is an exaggerated and incomprehensible behavior by our fellow citizens, because instead of thinking about the benefits that the system can offer, they come to behave in an immature way," Evripidou added.
In the meantime, the Police are trying, through CCTV and other means, to identify the perpetrators who vandalized the cameras located in two places on Makarios Avenue in Limassol and which are working on a trial basis.
