Greek police car fleet in shambles

Half of the patrol cars are non operational

Police officers in the Omonia precinct allege they are forced to borrow vehicles for their patrols as their police cars are out of service. The General Secretary of the Greek Police force, Stavros Mavroeidakos said that nearly half patrol cars in the police force were out of operation. He claimed that out of the 13,000 vehicles 6,300 were non-operational as the force lacked the necessary funds for simple car services and spare parts. Speaking to Greek TV station Skai, Mr. Mavroeidakos said his colleagues at Omonia precinct had to borrow cars from the nearby precinct of St. Panteleimonas to do their patrol rounds. He went on to says that images such as the one that came to light showing a police car with plastic bags covering the passenger’s window were a common occurrence. According to data by the police federation, nearly 100,000 euros is necessary for the maintenance of the ageing fleet of patrol cars.