The Ministry of Finance is requesting the release of the fund, in order to make it possible to serve the out-of-court notices from the Traffic Police cameras to offending drivers, including Turkish Cypriots, through the photoradar list.
In a letter from the Ministry of Finance to the Ass. Director of the Parliament, the written consent of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget is requested for the release of appropriations related to the following: Chapter 1303 "Police" Article 03.583 "Purchase of Services – Operation of the Photo-Marking System (per year) and operation/application of the Photo Radar List and t/c vehicles": €146.640 plus VAT.
Specifically, as stated in the letter, the release of an amount of €146,640 plus VAT is required, which concerns the coverage of the payment of the contractor company that will undertake the study, installation, maintenance and operation of the photo-marking system nationwide, including the upgrade of the system for the service of out-of-court notices to the owners of Turkish Cypriot vehicles.
According to a letter from the Director of Traffic Police at the Police Headquarters, Haris Evripidou, to the Ministry of Finance, the operation of the "Photoradar List" and the operation for Turkish Cypriot vehicles will be able to make it possible to serve out-of-court fines to vehicle owners, who have not received the out-of-court fines from the contractor company in the initial phase of the delivery process. As he clarifies, the service in the next phase concerns the obligation and competence of the Police and will be done by members of the Police and does not concern the actions of the company.
The purpose of adopting this procedure, says Mr. Evripidou, is to enable and in a more efficient way the service of out-of-court documents, which could not be served by the contractor company and on the other hand to reduce the bureaucracy and man-hours wasted by the members of the Police to carry out the service. According to the director of the Traffic Police, it is important to apply this function specifically to Turkish Cypriot vehicles for which there is no other way of delivery, due to the lack of access to the place of residence of vehicle owners (areas that are not controlled by the Republic of Cyprus).
It is noted that, while initially the operation of the photoradar list would include airports and ports as performance areas, due to the implementation of the "SCHENGEN" treaty, it was decided not to implement it in these areas. The operation will be implemented at police stations, police offices and roadblocks. Also, in the future, the service of out-of-court notices will also be done during the traffic checks carried out by the members of the Traffic Police on the road network, using microcomputers. Furthermore, it is noted that, for the whole process, the necessary actions have been taken in relation to the legislation concerning the protection of personal data.
In conclusion, the director of the Traffic Police notes that the necessity and use of the operation by the Police, will help on the one hand to save money, staff time in the Police and on the other hand the purpose of justice (objective and equal treatment) will be achieved.
