The Risk Safety Committee at the Police Headquarters proceeds to examine one by one all the cases of political leaders and state officials who have a guard, so that reductions can be made where necessary.
The Committee is already visiting the homes and offices of each political leader and inspecting the security measures it takes on its own (cameras, lighting, alarm systems, etc.) to determine whether the measures are sufficient, while suggestions may be made for their improvement. As for the police guards available to each party leader or state official, these will be examined in the light of the risk assessment.
Any decision taken will be based on political criteria since it is taken for granted that no one is in danger, however, it is not excluded that a politician will find himself targeted at some point depending on his positions or their positions. So whether or not the leaders of the parliamentary parties will have a guard, this will be decided by the Council of Ministers, after weighing all the factors and after the Minister of Justice submits a special report of the Police. It is not excluded that there will be a small reduction in police officers where and where appropriate.
Although the issue is still being examined and despite the fact that no political decision has been made to grant a guard, the leader of Direct Democracy, Phidias Panagiotou, in an unexpected move, asked through a video post, from police officers interested in taking over his guard, to apply.
According to his post, if "you are a police officer and you see this video it is for you. Now that I am the leader of a party, I have the right to have some police officers with me to watch over me. If you are interested in being one of the police officers who will take care of me and you have the qualifications, i.e. many years of experience and proof through your CV that you can really take care of me, then I will be happy for you to apply to the association", he says. Many citizens, with their posts under the video, wonder "who to watch out for".
At the moment, all the leaders of parliamentary parties except Odysseas Michailidis and Phidias Panagiotou have a police guard, something that will be decided next month. The Minister of Justice expressed the intention where justified to reduce the guards, but it is unknown whether this will include ministers and other state officials who have a guard.
All ministers have two police officers as an escort, except for two who have three each. The former President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiadis, has the most police officers, because in addition to the escort there is also a guard at his residence.
