Persecutions, arrests, confiscations. This is the side of the Drug Enforcement Agency that we know. And we know it well because the results from the strikes against the merchants are shocking. However, there is also the other, invisible side of YKAN with social work, the early intervention, treatment and social reintegration of the user.
This is a pioneering model of the Cyprus Police that moves beyond the suppression of drugs and concerns mainly young users and their environment. The Police does not stop at arrest, since there is also the human side of YKAN with the work of the Social Intervention Officers being enviable.
Tackling the drug phenomenon is no longer judged solely on seizures, arrests and the dismantling of trafficking networks. It is also judged on something much more difficult: whether a person who is already facing the problem of addiction can be persuaded to seek help before drug use leads to deeper dependence, repeated delinquency and marginalization. Here is one of the lesser-known, but particularly important projects of YKAN.
This is the Office of Prevention and Social Intervention, where Social Intervention Officers – specially trained members of the Police with an academic background in Social Work – are called upon to perform a role that goes far beyond the traditional limits of police action.
These officers are faced with a person, a family and often an entire social environment that needs support. The main mission of YKAN is to deal with illegal drug trafficking and use. However, for years it has developed a parallel and particularly important dimension of action: demand reduction and social intervention. The dedicated Social Intervention Office was created precisely to bridge the gap between police intervention and treatment and social support services.
The European crime prevention network EUCPN has recorded the Cypriot model as a good practice, noting that YKAN has created a special Social Service staffed by "Police-Social Intervention Officers", who provide individual counselling and support, strengthen the motivation for change and refer those concerned to the appropriate therapeutic structures. This approach is particularly important when it concerns young people who are coming into contact with the criminal justice system for the first time.
The goal, as reported to "F" by social intervention officers, is not to "lose" the delinquent behaviour, but to use this first contact with the authorities as a window of opportunity for change.
The Social Intervention Officer communicates with the person in a short period of time, holds a personal meeting, assesses their needs, attempts to create a relationship of trust, explains the available options and, above all, tries to motivate the person himself to accept the prospect of treatment. The approach is personalized.
The needs of a 17-year-old who made his first use are different, others are the needs of a young man who has already developed problematic use and others of a family that has been trying to deal with the addiction of one of its members for years. Parents and the supportive environment are informed, guided and, where necessary, referred to services that can support them. As mentioned, the Cooperation Protocol for the referral of young offenders by YKAN to state and non-governmental treatment centers is of particular importance.
The protocol applies to specific categories of cases, including people who are arrested for the first time for using or possessing drugs for personal use and who meet the prescribed criteria (ages 14-24). The Social Intervention Officers contact the person, inform him of the available treatment options and, if he responds, proceed to refer him to the appropriate service.
Provided that he/she attends and completes a therapeutic program, then the case does not follow the legal judicial procedure, with the consent of the Legal Service.
In other words, police intervention can be the beginning of a different course of life. Thus, it is underlined by the officials, the Service that investigates drug trafficking, arrests traffickers, confiscates illegal substances and deals with organized crime, at the same time has specialized officers who work in prevention, social intervention, mobilization and referral of users to treatment. This creates a special balance: suppression of supply – prevention of demand – early intervention – treatment – social reintegration. They are two sides of the same drug policy.
An important tool of this effort is the 1498 line. The service acts as an information, guidance, and support mechanism for issues related to the use or abuse of illegal substances, while Social Intervention Officers can guide and refer individuals to the appropriate services. The real success in the fight against drugs is not just how many traffickers were brought to justice. It's also how many young people didn't have to get there. Repression is essential to counter organised criminal networks and the illicit market. Prevention, however, is necessary to limit demand.
And social intervention is where the Police can turn a difficult moment – even an arrest – into an opportunity for change. This is exactly the work that the Social Intervention Officers of YKAN do every day. A play that does not make headlines. It is not accompanied by sirens and seizures. It is not always recorded in large numbers. But it can have perhaps the most important effect: to help a person change course before drugs determine his entire life. And this is an aspect of the Police that society deserves to know.
"Behind every case there is a man"
Two Social Intervention Officers of YKAN who remained anonymous for obvious reasons, talk to "F" about the difficult stories they face every day.
"We don't just see the action. We are trying to see the man behind it," says one of the officials. In the Office of Prevention and Social Intervention of YKAN, everyday life is very different from what is usually associated with a repressive service, says the second officer.
Here there are not only case files and police proceedings. There are young people who are afraid, parents who don't know how to react, families who are exhausted and users who often find themselves at a critical crossroads in their lives. YKAN Social Intervention Officers act as the link between police intervention and treatment and social support services, they say.
According to a social intervention worker who remained anonymous, the most difficult moment is when you see a young person who has lost faith in himself. That is why our role is special because we are at a point where the Police, social intervention and treatment meet.
"When a person comes into contact with YKAN about a case related to drug use, our job is not just to tell them 'go to a treatment program. We have to listen to them first. To understand what has happened. To assess their needs and, above all, to try to create a climate of trust."
When asked what is the hardest part of their job, the answer is seeing a young person start to lose faith in themselves. "Many times we have a child or a very young person in front of us who has made mistakes, but thinks that everyone has now condemned him. He may have problems at school, in his family, in his friends. He may have started using substances to get out of problems he doesn't know how to deal with. And suddenly he finds himself facing police officers and a process that scares him. There you have to show him that this particular moment does not mean that his life is over. It may be the moment when he decides to change," says the official.
On whether there is a difficult case she has in her memory, she says: I especially remember a young man who was initially completely negative. He didn't want to talk. He thought that everyone was against him and that no one could understand him. The first meeting was very difficult. We didn't try to put pressure on him. We tried to listen to him first. Sometimes that's the most important thing you can do. Let the other person speak. In the following meetings he gradually began to open up. He talked about his family, his friends, things that pressured him and how he had come to use. He eventually accepted the referral to a treatment program. I will not say that everything was solved overnight. Treatment is not an easy process. But he took the first step. And this is very important for us."
As to how important family is, the answer is simple: huge. As she states, many times the problem does not only concern the person who uses. It concerns the whole family.
Parents may feel guilty. They may blame each other. They may have tried everything and reached their limits. They also need guidance. We try to help them understand that addiction is not only dealt with by yelling, punishing or threatening. It needs the right approach, consistency and professional help.
We asked a second social intervention officer to describe his experience: "There are mothers who come and cry before they even start talking. People hear about "drugs" and immediately think of a user or a delinquent. We see the family behind it. We see the parent who does not sleep at night. The mother who calls and does not know where her child is. The father who does not know whether to be strict or supportive. We see people who have often reached their limits. And this is one of the most difficult parts of our work.
– How does such a meeting usually begin?
– Many times it starts with silence. Or with anger. Or with fear. A person may sit across from you and think that you are still a policeman who will judge him. It takes time for him to understand that you are there to help him find a solution. It does not mean that we overlook the fact that an infringement has been committed. It means that we are trying to deal with both the cause and the consequences.
– Which case has shocked you the most?
– I will not refer to specific elements of a case, because the protection of the privacy of the people we meet is paramount. However, there was a case of a young person where the family had essentially broken up. The parents had stopped communicating with each other. The child had been removed from school and had created a completely different circle. When we met the family, you could tell everyone was exhausted. The young man did not only need treatment. The whole family needed support. There you understand that drugs are not just a matter of the Police. It is a social issue.
It is noted that social intervention officers act in accordance with the Code of Ethics of Social Work, while treatment centers ensure confidentiality, protection of personal data and respect for the privacy of the individual. Cooperation is always made with the consent of the beneficiary.
The two functionaries agree on one point: social intervention cannot be treated as a complementary activity. It is an integral part of a modern drug policy. "The most important victory in the fight against drugs may not always be an arrest. He may be a man who will not need to be arrested again," they say.
The European dimension of the Cypriot model
The Cypriot model is not an isolated national practice. It has been presented and recorded at European level as a good practice. The EUCPN (European Crime Prevention Network) states that the YKAN Social Service is a special structure within a law enforcement service, with the aim of reducing demand, providing counselling and referral to treatment. A particularly rare European example of the integration of organized social intervention within a law enforcement agency.
At the same time, the European Union has in recent years strengthened its approach that emphasizes the prevention of recidivism and the early removal of young people from the criminal justice system when therapeutic intervention is possible. The EUDA itself – the current European Drugs Agency, formerly the EMCDDA – states that police-led referral interventions can help reduce future delinquency and repeated contacts with the criminal justice system, while early access to services and cross-sectoral cooperation are considered important factors for their successful implementation. This is exactly the element that characterizes the Cypriot approach. A repressive service with a "second mission".
In fact, during the informal meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in January 2026, the Cypriot Presidency presented the Social Intervention Officers system as a Cypriot model for referring young people who come into contact with the penal system due to drugs to treatment centers. The relevant European report notes that the program is considered successful and is under evaluation. At the same time, the European Commission underlined the importance of preventing recidivism and removing young people from the criminal cycle as quickly as possible. This is perhaps the most characteristic confirmation of the European value of the model.
1760 people in programs instead of trial
The effectiveness of the approach can be seen from the data of YKAN. According to them, in 2020, the Social Intervention Officers referred 304 people to treatment centers on a nationwide basis, of which 208 were served who had a problem with use and 65 belonged to their family / support environment.
In 2021, 228 people were referred (178 dependents and 50 supportive environment), in 2022 246 (177 ex. and 69 sub. environment), in the year 2023, 256 people (202 ex. and 54 sub. environment) while in 2024 257 people (192 ex. + 65 sub. environment) were referred to a treatment program.
In 2025, the Social Intervention Officers of YKAN referred 296 people, of whom 205 were served and 91 belonged to their supportive environment.
According to data, until 17/9/2026, 173 people were referred to treatment programs – 118 users/beneficiaries and 55 people from their family or support environment.
