Cyprus-Forum.com

[YFred]

Judging by the article in Cyprus mail today, it seems like its in some hell of mess. Is there any hope we can put our faith in such a system?

Time for police force to clean up its ranks

EVERYONE HAS been asking the same question about the policeman shot dead outside his house in the early hours of Sunday. Why, was Stavros Stavrou still in the force considering that he was suspected of corruption and had been the subject of several internal investigations, the last held in January?

And if the answer is that no incriminating evidence had been found against him, then we have to ask why? The murdered policeman was engaging in his illicit activities quite openly. Investigating officers found €96,000 and £4,000 in cash in his shiny Mercedes as well as 247 cheques of a total value of €1.5 million. A man who was afraid there was a chance of being nabbed would not have been driving around with so much incriminating evidence in his car.

When he was being investigated, why had search warrants not been issued? It just seems incredible that the police could not have gathered enough evidence against him to kick him off the force, at the very least. If press reports that he was a loan shark and debt collector were accurate then there could be no excuse for the inability to bring a case against him.

Either the police are even more incompetent than it is generally thought or officers ordered to investigate were covering up for him in the name of worker solidarity. The second is the more likely explanation because it was also evident in the Kitas case, with the Attorney-general publicly complaining several times about the unwillingness of policemen to co-operate with investigators.

This union mentality exists in police forces all over the world, but it is up to the command to draw the line. When a crooked policeman is being investigated there can be no justification for his colleagues showing solidarity and senior officers should ensure against this, by properly monitoring an investigation.

What is needed is strong leadership that shows commitment in fighting corruption within the force. In the case of Stavrou, the command always suspected he was up to no good, which was why he was given punitive transfers – Avdimou, Stroumbi and Troodos among others – but this hardly qualified as an acceptable way of dealing with a serious problem.

The force’s command often resorts to punitive transfers instead of setting in motion procedures for sacking officers for serious violation of the rules. If the procedures – as in the case of the civil service - are too complicated, then they should be simplified so as to allow the police to clean up its ranks, because we doubt that Stavrou was the only corrupt officer in the force. And hopefully, once command starts taking action against the bad cops, standards of discipline and professionalism among the rank and file would improve.

[CBBB]

We had better get the incorruptable Turks to sort it out!

[EPSILON]

Judging by the article in Cyprus mail today, it seems like its in some hell of mess. Is there any hope we can put our faith in such a system?

Time for police force to clean up its ranks

EVERYONE HAS been asking the same question about the policeman shot dead outside his house in the early hours of Sunday. Why, was Stavros Stavrou still in the force considering that he was suspected of corruption and had been the subject of several internal investigations, the last held in January?

And if the answer is that no incriminating evidence had been found against him, then we have to ask why? The murdered policeman was engaging in his illicit activities quite openly. Investigating officers found €96,000 and £4,000 in cash in his shiny Mercedes as well as 247 cheques of a total value of €1.5 million. A man who was afraid there was a chance of being nabbed would not have been driving around with so much incriminating evidence in his car.

When he was being investigated, why had search warrants not been issued? It just seems incredible that the police could not have gathered enough evidence against him to kick him off the force, at the very least. If press reports that he was a loan shark and debt collector were accurate then there could be no excuse for the inability to bring a case against him.

Either the police are even more incompetent than it is generally thought or officers ordered to investigate were covering up for him in the name of worker solidarity. The second is the more likely explanation because it was also evident in the Kitas case, with the Attorney-general publicly complaining several times about the unwillingness of policemen to co-operate with investigators.

This union mentality exists in police forces all over the world, but it is up to the command to draw the line. When a crooked policeman is being investigated there can be no justification for his colleagues showing solidarity and senior officers should ensure against this, by properly monitoring an investigation.

What is needed is strong leadership that shows commitment in fighting corruption within the force. In the case of Stavrou, the command always suspected he was up to no good, which was why he was given punitive transfers – Avdimou, Stroumbi and Troodos among others – but this hardly qualified as an acceptable way of dealing with a serious problem.

The force’s command often resorts to punitive transfers instead of setting in motion procedures for sacking officers for serious violation of the rules. If the procedures – as in the case of the civil service - are too complicated, then they should be simplified so as to allow the police to clean up its ranks, because we doubt that Stavrou was the only corrupt officer in the force. And hopefully, once command starts taking action against the bad cops, standards of discipline and professionalism among the rank and file would improve.

You can place your faith in Turkish one (there policemen are travelling on same car with gangsters.!!!Unfortunately my friend this is not either Greek or Turkish problem -is just human problem- fraud is discovered by human and exersised by human

[roseandchan]

i had an experience with a policeman in larnaca this week.
his behaviour was a disgrace.
just because we live in the north, he presumed we were like the orams.
we pointed out to him that we live on pre 74 turkish land and his attitude was 'thats what they all say'
so we enjoyed our day out in the south being called liars and theives!
lucky i know not all gc's think that way.
it didn't give us much respect for your police force after his display of racism.

[YFred]

i had an experience with a policeman in larnaca this week.
his behaviour was a disgrace.
just because we live in the north, he presumed we were like the orams.
we pointed out to him that we live on pre 74 turkish land and his attitude was 'thats what they all say'
so we enjoyed our day out in the south being called liars and theives!
lucky i know not all gc's think that way.
it didn't give us much respect for your police force after his display of racism.

Thank your lucky stars, at least they didn't say Stanathema to you!
Thats their way of telling you they love you, you have to get used these sorts of activities from our GC population. Also when you hug just make sure they don't suffocate you to death with love and all that.

[roseandchan]

with the look on his face it wasn't love he was feeling!
maybe it was his way of embracing his fellow e.u citizens?

[Floda]

i had an experience with a policeman in larnaca this week.
his behaviour was a disgrace.
just because we live in the north, he presumed we were like the orams.
we pointed out to him that we live on pre 74 turkish land and his attitude was 'thats what they all say'
so we enjoyed our day out in the south being called liars and theives!
lucky i know not all gc's think that way.
it didn't give us much respect for your police force after his display of racism.

There is no such thing as 'Turkish Land' in Cyprus (nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be) the policeman was probably disgruntled by your lack of respect in failing to recognise the fact.

THAT slip of the tongue (on your part) would probably have met with the same dismissive lack of tolerance by ANY Cypriot sensitive to the awful injustice of the Turkish invasion and it's consequences.

There are those who relish the fact that Cyprus underwent the horrors that preceded and followed the violent Turkish occupation, there are those who actually sought to capitalise on the misfortunes of the innocents, perhaps the policeman regarded you as one such person.

Think about it.

[YFred]

i had an experience with a policeman in larnaca this week.
his behaviour was a disgrace.
just because we live in the north, he presumed we were like the orams.
we pointed out to him that we live on pre 74 turkish land and his attitude was 'thats what they all say'
so we enjoyed our day out in the south being called liars and theives!
lucky i know not all gc's think that way.
it didn't give us much respect for your police force after his display of racism.

There is no such thing as 'Turkish Land' in Cyprus (nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be) the policeman was probably disgruntled by your lack of respect in failing to recognise the fact.

THAT slip of the tongue (on your part) would probably have met with the same dismissive lack of tolerance by ANY Cypriot sensitive to the awful injustice of the Turkish invasion and it's consequences.

There are those who relish the fact that Cyprus underwent the horrors that preceded and followed the violent Turkish occupation, there are those who actually sought to capitalise on the misfortunes of the innocents, perhaps the policeman regarded you as one such person.

Think about it.

Shall we call it Muslim land like in Greece?

[YFred]

Judging by the article in Cyprus mail today, it seems like its in some hell of mess. Is there any hope we can put our faith in such a system?

Time for police force to clean up its ranks

EVERYONE HAS been asking the same question about the policeman shot dead outside his house in the early hours of Sunday. Why, was Stavros Stavrou still in the force considering that he was suspected of corruption and had been the subject of several internal investigations, the last held in January?

And if the answer is that no incriminating evidence had been found against him, then we have to ask why? The murdered policeman was engaging in his illicit activities quite openly. Investigating officers found €96,000 and £4,000 in cash in his shiny Mercedes as well as 247 cheques of a total value of €1.5 million. A man who was afraid there was a chance of being nabbed would not have been driving around with so much incriminating evidence in his car.

When he was being investigated, why had search warrants not been issued? It just seems incredible that the police could not have gathered enough evidence against him to kick him off the force, at the very least. If press reports that he was a loan shark and debt collector were accurate then there could be no excuse for the inability to bring a case against him.

Either the police are even more incompetent than it is generally thought or officers ordered to investigate were covering up for him in the name of worker solidarity. The second is the more likely explanation because it was also evident in the Kitas case, with the Attorney-general publicly complaining several times about the unwillingness of policemen to co-operate with investigators.

This union mentality exists in police forces all over the world, but it is up to the command to draw the line. When a crooked policeman is being investigated there can be no justification for his colleagues showing solidarity and senior officers should ensure against this, by properly monitoring an investigation.

What is needed is strong leadership that shows commitment in fighting corruption within the force. In the case of Stavrou, the command always suspected he was up to no good, which was why he was given punitive transfers – Avdimou, Stroumbi and Troodos among others – but this hardly qualified as an acceptable way of dealing with a serious problem.

The force’s command often resorts to punitive transfers instead of setting in motion procedures for sacking officers for serious violation of the rules. If the procedures – as in the case of the civil service - are too complicated, then they should be simplified so as to allow the police to clean up its ranks, because we doubt that Stavrou was the only corrupt officer in the force. And hopefully, once command starts taking action against the bad cops, standards of discipline and professionalism among the rank and file would improve.

You can place your faith in Turkish one (there policemen are travelling on same car with gangsters.!!!Unfortunately my friend this is not either Greek or Turkish problem -is just human problem- fraud is discovered by human and exersised by human

This is not about an individual; this is a systemic problem not befitting an EU member. It sounds as though this guy had protection higher up in the justice system.

[Floda]

i had an experience with a policeman in larnaca this week.
his behaviour was a disgrace.
just because we live in the north, he presumed we were like the orams.
we pointed out to him that we live on pre 74 turkish land and his attitude was 'thats what they all say'
so we enjoyed our day out in the south being called liars and theives!
lucky i know not all gc's think that way.
it didn't give us much respect for your police force after his display of racism.

There is no such thing as 'Turkish Land' in Cyprus (nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be) the policeman was probably disgruntled by your lack of respect in failing to recognise the fact.

THAT slip of the tongue (on your part) would probably have met with the same dismissive lack of tolerance by ANY Cypriot sensitive to the awful injustice of the Turkish invasion and it's consequences.

There are those who relish the fact that Cyprus underwent the horrors that preceded and followed the violent Turkish occupation, there are those who actually sought to capitalise on the misfortunes of the innocents, perhaps the policeman regarded you as one such person.

Think about it.

Shall we call it Muslim land like in Greece?

Actually, I think it would be more in keeping with decency and respectability to call the nation (and it's territories) by it's correct name.

There are those who are unable to grasp the fundamental principles of such attributes, perhaps, in the process of time, such individuals will develop into something resembling mankind, unfortunately those to whom I refer seem to have mutated somewhat. IMHO.