Filenews 25 August 2025 - by Fanis Makridis
Countdown to the use of mobile devices by police officers who will be on the battlefield to fight crime.
Next Monday, members of the Police Force who will patrol will be equipped with tablets, which will be connected to the central information system of the Police.
Now, they will have direct access to international platforms and will be able to locate fugitives who are wanted internationally, as well as stolen vehicles/objects. This results from an internal note of the Police, the content of which is known to "F".
In other words, the Corps officers serving on the front line will exercise effective control and will not have to turn to a colleague within the station/service to receive information about an auditee.
They will have direct access to all data concerning the person under control, without the intermediation of anyone. As if they are in front of a desktop computer that has access to the central system.
These digital tablets enable police officers to carry out direct on-the-spot checks during patrols, traffic checks and incident investigations.
Accesses
More specifically, these "tablets" will be equipped with the web application CY Patrol Check. Through it, they will be able to identify persons who are on an Interpol "stop list" or "alert list", while they will also have access to the Schengen Information System for stolen vehicles and objects.
Only by recording the above possibilities provided to the members of the Police, one realizes about the "weapon" that the Police now acquires, even if with a delay (note: police forces internationally have been equipped with such equipment for years).
They have been trained
By next Monday, September 1st, members of the Police will be ready to use these tablets. Since last July, Police officers have been trained on the proper use of the equipment and software installed at the Police Academy.
These members of the Force, as nuclei, have had a deadline to this day to transmit their knowledge to all the personnel of their Service. In fact, according to the information of "F", since the beginning of this month, measures have been taken to ensure the use of the technology from the 1st of next month.
A competent senior officer of the Corps has sent a message on behalf of the Chief of Police, Themistos Arnaoutis, so that all the necessary actions can be taken within the predetermined schedules.
The recipients are the police directors of the provinces, the commander of the Aliens and Immigration Service and the director of the Traffic Police Headquarters.
Assessment by the Commission
According to information provided by "F" that cannot be disputed, the Cyprus Police attaches great importance to the issue of the use of tablets. This is because this issue is inextricably linked to the full inclusion of the Republic of Cyprus in the Schengen Agreement, which has already been launched.
As pointed out in an internal letter of the Police, the use of tablets is part of "Mobile Policing", which is of decisive importance. More specifically, "mobile policing" is a criterion for the inclusion of democracy in the zone and will be evaluated and monitored by the European Commission.
It is no coincidence that the heads of police services who will use the tablets, are asked to report to the competent assistant chief of police every 15 days. In particular, they will transmit to him numerical data on all the controls, as well as their results.
Inclusion in the Schengen zone in the Strategic Planning of the Police
- 'Process of full integration into the area and full implementation of the Schengen acquis»
As we have written, the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the Schengen area is of great importance for the Police Force. Suffice it to note that in the strategic planning of the Cyprus Police for the three-year period 2026-2028, there is an explicit reference to the Schengen Agreement and Cyprus' effort to be included in the relevant zone.
In the context of this planning, which took its final form in the summer and was notified to competent persons on 27/6/2025, six sectors are included.
One of them concerns "Integrated Border Management". In the analysis that is carried out, there are notes on the management of the external borders of the Republic of Cyprus.
Here is a characteristic reference that attributes the importance of the Schengen area for Cyprus:
"Border management through the Implementation of the National Strategy for Integrated Border Management and the Action Plan includes, among other things, the control to deal with irregular migration, the illegal movement of persons, goods, etc., as well as the prevention of any violation of air/maritime space, with the participation and cooperation of all competent EU services, third countries and international organisations.
The transit control of all migrants results from the implementation of the Green Line Regulation and the Code implementing the regulation. The controls concern all trafficked persons, regardless of nationality, and cover both trafficking to the areas controlled by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as trafficking to non-controlled areas.
To better manage the external borders, the exchange of information is carried out through the Schengen Information System, the national databases and the Europol and Interpol databases. Cyprus is in the process of implementing actions for the assessment of full integration into the area and the full implementation of the Schengen acquis".
Modernisation efforts
The efforts of the Cyprus Police to modernize are also recorded through the tenders it announces to acquire technological/digital means. Examining the tenders in the last two months, we find the following:
- Tender for the supply and maintenance of Oracle licenses, for the purpose of managing the supervisory tables of passport control and interactive kiosks.
- Upgrade of the applications of the central Police system regarding control in the national SCHENGEN N-SIS system.
- Installation and Configuration of Network and Data Security Equipment.
- Tenders for the Supply and Installation of 50 Computers and Monitors with Superior Technical Characteristics.
- Tender for the supply of 90 laptops and 90 portable printers.
- Creation, implementation and maintenance of an integrated platform for the digitalization of Police procedures (DIGIPOL).
There are also a large number of tenders aimed at the development of systems, their maintenance and the acquisition of new technological means.
