The government expects the police force to come up with a “roadmap” for improvements after its two chief officers were fired, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Monday.
The police chief and his deputy were dismissed by President Nikos Christodoulides as he returned to the island on Sunday evening following the escape of convicted double-murderer Doros Theofanous from under the noses of seven officers last week. The escapee, aka ‘the hairdresser’, has since been caught.
The goal is to thoroughly modernise and streamline the police force in a manner which can be “felt by every member of the public”, Letymbiotis told state broadcaster CyBC.
Police Chief Stylianos Papatheodorou and his deputy Demetris Demetriou will be replaced by Themistos Arnaoutis and Panicos Stavrou.
Meanwhile, Christodoulides announced in co-operation with the justice minister he would call a meeting of the Public Service Commission to appoint Constantinos Constantinides to the position of acting director of prisons.
According to Letymbiotis, the president based his choices on objective evaluation of each person’s capacity for their appointed role, not based on any personal relationships.
Drawn from the force’s ranks, Arnaoutis served as head of the investigative team for the Helios airplane crash tragedy.
He participated in investigations into what led to the 2013 financial crisis, and was involved in solving the quadruple Ayia Napa gangland murders case, which cemented his image as an expert in solving difficult high-profile crimes.
He is also a speaker of English, German and Russian.
Stavrou, meanwhile, served as director of the drugs squad (Ykan), and was head of the Police Academy until March 2023, when he took on duties as commander of the Presidential Guard.
Public concern over the effectiveness of both the police and prison services has reached a pitch after a series of dramatic perceived failures, beginning with the handling of racist riots in Chlorakas and Limassol last year. Already then questions were asked over police chief Papatheodorou’s suitability for the post.
This was followed by two high profile underworld murders, one of which took place in broad daylight in Limassol and the other, carried out by a a sniper in a densely inhabited suburb of Nicosia.
Other incidents, including football violence, have followed at regular intervals, with public outcry at the impunity with which the underworld and other criminal and delinquent elements seemed able to operate.
