The Greek authorities are concerned about the dramatic increase in violence between minors, including in petty crimes which often go unreported, and are preparing measures to combat it.
Speaking in an interview on ERT TV, the Minister for Citizen Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis stated that the government also has domestic violence in its sights, and is always on the watch for terrorism.
Juvenile delinquency is at a high level and may be even worse than expected because many cases are not being reported. In an effort to start combating the upward trend, the government plans to create an application for minors to report bullying and violence, similar to the panic button for domestic violence, and will also create a 24-hour call center with specialists trained in bullying.
Commenting on domestic violence, Chrisochoidis noted that there has been an improvement in handling domestic violence cases through the domestic violence centers, which are sensitized and trained to address such cases.
The Minister addressed additional concerns related to terrorism and the many recent reports about the prevalence of “Greek mafia”. He noted that the government is at a constant state of alertness for terrorism. And as for the Greek mafia, he said that there are indeed criminal networks, particularly connected to products that are taxed highly, like fuel and tobacco.
“The criminal networks serve interests, like fuel and tobacco. One truck with a few thousand packets of Marlboro cigarettes brings a net profit of 800,000 euros.” Fuel is also an attractive product for criminals because they can gain 0.50-1 euro per liter against the very small returns earned through the legal trade of fuel, which brings in just around 0.3 cents per liter, said Chrisochoidis.
