Filenews 3 September 2025 - by Fanis Makridis
Official statistics on cases of violence or resistance against members of the Police show that in recent years more than 250 incidents have been reported annually.
On the occasion of six cases involving attacks by controlled persons against members of the Police Force within a five-day period around the end of August, "F" requested officially recorded data for previous years related to identical incidents.
Based on the statistics transmitted to us by the Police, in 2023 there were 274 cases of assault/resistance against police officers, the corresponding number for 2024 was 288, while until July 31 of this year, 147 such cases were recorded.
We summarize the incidents:
>> 2023: 274 cases
>> 2024: 288 cases
>> 2025 (until 31/07): 147 cases
As we noted, the above numbers include not only offenses of assault against police officers, but also cases of resistance to members of the Police Force during the execution of their duties.
What emerges effortlessly is that in the years 2023 and 2024 the incidents of this nature significantly exceeded 250 (274 and 288, respectively), while even if we cannot make a prediction for the current year, the number of 147 cases up to the first seven months cannot be underestimated.
Five-day-fire
It should be noted that the issue of attacks against members of the Police or resistance in the exercise of the latter's duties has been raised several times in the sphere of public debate by police unions (SAK and "EQUALITY").
Lately, the issue had come back to the fore (see the publication of "EQUALITY" and relevant positions) on the occasion of six such incidents that were recorded between the dates of 20/8 and 25/8.
We briefly record the incidents that became known through sources of information from the Police and convey the relevant picture:
>> 20/8 – During a police check in an area of Lakatamia frequented by young people during the morning hours, a 24-year-old man hit a police officer with a stolen motorcycle and then collided with a patrol car. The young man was arrested for 10 offenses, with the policeman injured in the wrist.
>> 22/8 – A 33-year-old foreigner kicked a female police officer in the face while she was injured on a stretcher.
>> 23/8 – A 28-year-old man arrested for a drug case in Larnaca allegedly attacked and slightly injured a police officer in the leg during the search of a house where quantities of cocaine and cannabis, as well as ecstasy pills, were found.
>> 23/8 – A drunk driver during the alcohol test hit a police officer and escaped with the breathalyzer device. The member of the Force was not seriously injured.
>> 24/8 – After a pursuit of a vehicle of suspicious persons in Limassol, the driver of the car drove it towards police officers who were moving on foot.
>> 25/8 – A person attacked and beat a police officer in a house in Aradippou where the police had gone after a complaint about loud music.
Criminal cases
It should be noted that the number of criminal cases registered in the Courts, which have complaining members of the Police, is smaller. This results from an answer given by the Minister of Justice, Marios Hartsiotis, to a question by the MP, Alexandra Attalidou. In detail, the criminal cases with complaining police officers per year: 2019 – 135, 2020 – 142, 2021 – 123,, 2022 – 132, 2023 – 150, 2024 – 148.
