Police union angered by ban on off-duty guns

Trade union Isotita confirmed on Tuesday that some police officers who were given guns for their own personal protection while off duty have since been asked to hand them in.

Head of the police branch of the Isotita trade union Nikos Loizides explained that the police leadership made the decision without offering any explanation as to the reasons behind the apparent change in policy.

He also argued that there are double standards, as the same police leadership which is rescinding officers’ licences had previously approved them for some politicians.

Loizides further stated that he has since sent an email to police chief Stelios Papatheodorou urging him to reconsider the move.

It was further argued that officers are being called to hand in their off-duty guns despite them facing danger which results from their line of work.

Loizides sought to argue that there is a sense of unfairness in the decision as – according to him – “many members of the public carry firearms with the approval of the police”.

In his communication with the police chief, Loizides wrote: “We have received complaints from members of the police regarding the cancellation of their permits without justification.”

Calling on the police chief to reconsider the decision, Loizides added that “you yourself are aware that you have approved firearm licences for a large number of civilians”.

But Politis, which broke the story, reported that the police have refused to comment on the matter, with police spokesman Christos Andreou replying that “we do not comment on security matters that concern internal procedures of the police”.

Politis said it had previously reported that seven former and current officials and political figures obtained firearm licences for personal security. The licences were issued by the police following approval from the justice ministry.

It further reported that these politicians had to be listed as special police officers to be able to carry weapons.

It added that as of January 2020 there were 55 valid firearm licences for personal protection.

It is understood that the firearms in question are pistols which are tightly controlled by the authorities, in comparison to hunting shotguns which are much easier to obtain.