Filenews 21 May 2025 - by Fanis Makridis
Intense dissatisfaction is caused in police circles by a directive that makes the officers of the corps responsible for transporting the dead to hospitals and morgues.
The case of the Limassol District Police Directorate (ADA) is also indicative.
According to data from "F", the members serving in the geographical jurisdiction of the said police directorate were notified the day before yesterday that they will undertake the transport of the bodies of persons, who are either victims of criminal acts, or are included in the category of sudden/unnatural deaths.
The instruction given is to transfer the bodies from the tents to the morgue of the Limassol General Hospital and from there to the morgue of the Nicosia General Hospital for an autopsy.
In this directive, it is clarified that only in certain cases will the deceased be transported by vehicles of funeral homes, which provide services on a lease basis.
More specifically, members of the Police will avoid transporting bodies only in cases where the bodies:
>> is in a state of decay
>> are carriers of infectious diseases
>> have been burned by fire
As clarified in the relevant directive, before notifying funeral homes for the transfer of bodies that fall into these three categories, police officers must first obtain permission from the assistant police director.
The reason for this latest development is attributed to the low budget available to the Police to purchase services for the transport of dead persons. It should be noted here that in 2019, when an issue had been raised in Parliament on the occasion of the victims of the serial killer "Orestes", the annual amount amounted to €128,250.
Police Officers' Health
As "F" is validly informed, this situation has already caused discomfort to members of the Police Force. The first and main reason is the risks that these duties pose to police officers.
The transport of the dead, as reported to us by a person who is well informed, is done through a semi-truck (van) without observing rules for the protection of the health of police officers.
"How can the police officer know that the victim of a criminal act is or is not a carrier of a contagious disease?" He asked, characteristically, speaking to our newspaper.
The same person, speaking to us, mentioned that police officers are called upon to transport bodies for autopsy to Nicosia from various private hospitals that have contracted with the General Health System (GHS). This is to point out that police officers are entrusted with tasks that should be performed by other competent departments of the State.
He also commented that the forensic service is under the Ministry of Health and the Police respectively under the Ministry of Justice.
Transportation of forensic pathologists
It is worth noting here that, according to irrefutable evidence that "F" has at his disposal, the Police are also charged with the duties of transporting the forensic pathologists to the scenes where the latter are called to perform autopsies at crime scenes.
In fact, there was recently an update from the Police Headquarters on the mechanism for the transfer of the members of the forensic service.
