Cities Police
Cities Police Astynomia Poleon Αστυνομία Πόλεων | |
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![]() ![]() Badge of Cities Police, 1935–1941, 1944-1973 (left) and 1974–1984 (right) | |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1921 |
Dissolved | 1 November 1984 |
Superseding agency | Hellenic Police |
Employees | 10,000–12,000 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Greece |
Legal jurisdiction | City of Athens,Piraeus,PatrasandCorfu |
Governing body | Ministry of Public Order |
Constituting instruments |
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General nature | |
Notables | |
Anniversary |
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TheCities Police(Greek:Αστυνομία Πόλεων) was aGreekpoliceforce extant from 1921 to 1984, responsible for policingurban areas.It complemented theHellenic Gendarmerie,which was responsible for rural and suburban areas.
History
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-71706-0032%2C_MS_%22V%C3%B6lkerfreundschaft%22%2C_erste_Fahrt.jpg/150px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-71706-0032%2C_MS_%22V%C3%B6lkerfreundschaft%22%2C_erste_Fahrt.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/%CE%91%CF%83%CF%84%CF%85%CE%BD%CF%8C%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_16%CE%BF%CF%85.jpg/150px-%CE%91%CF%83%CF%84%CF%85%CE%BD%CF%8C%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_16%CE%BF%CF%85.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/%CE%91%CF%83%CF%84%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%AF%CE%B1_%CE%A0%CF%8C%CE%BB%CE%B5%CF%89%CE%BD%2C_%CE%A3%CE%B5%CF%80%CF%84%CE%AD%CE%BC%CE%B2%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82_1973.jpg/220px-%CE%91%CF%83%CF%84%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%AF%CE%B1_%CE%A0%CF%8C%CE%BB%CE%B5%CF%89%CE%BD%2C_%CE%A3%CE%B5%CF%80%CF%84%CE%AD%CE%BC%CE%B2%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82_1973.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Band_of_the_Cities_Police_marches_down_Irodou_Attikou_Street.jpg/200px-Band_of_the_Cities_Police_marches_down_Irodou_Attikou_Street.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Band_of_the_Cities_Police_at_the_Temple_of_Olympian_Zeus.jpg/200px-Band_of_the_Cities_Police_at_the_Temple_of_Olympian_Zeus.jpg)
Its creation was decreed in 1918 (Article 12 of the Law 1370/1918On the organization of the Gendarmerie) and confirmed in 1920 (Law 2461/1920). The force became operational in the city ofCorfuin 1920, followed byPatras(1921),Piraeus(1923) andAthens(1929). Remarkably, inThessaloniki,Greece's second largest city, the force was not established due to the Gendarmerie's opposition, despite the law's provisions.
Unlike the paramilitary Gendarmerie, which had close ties to theHellenic Armyand was commanded by Army generals, the Cities Police was a purely civilian force, modeled after theMetropolitan PoliceofLondon,and with training provided by a British mission under SirFrederick Loch Halliday.[1]
From the late 1920s, the Cities Police, and especially its feared General Security Directorate, initiated the state persecution of the nascentCommunist Party of Greece(KKE), whose popularity was growing among the urban poor, the working classes and the destituterefugees from Asia Minor.In the aftermath of theGreek Civil War,the Gendarmerie and the Cities Police became bastions of the conservative and vehemently anti-Communist establishment, a role they would retain throughout theGreek juntaof 1967–74. After thefall of the junta,emphasis was placed on civilian policing. Despite strong opposition from the Gendarmerie and the Cities Police,[2]both forces were amalgamated on 1 November 1984 (Law 1481/1-10-1984) into the unifiedHellenic Police.
Ranks insignia
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004).Athens: a cultural and literary history.Signal Books. p. 187.ISBN978-1-902669-81-6.
- ^"Χρόνος και λόγοι κατάργησης".www.peaaap.gr.Retrieved2023-05-05.