Burglaries and armed robberies, invasion of criminals in homes and businesses, incidents of use of raw violence that sometimes ends in the victim’s death have apparently resulted that citizens’ greatest fear is no other than the unexpected violence outbreak. At the same time, the shortages in human resources and funds shortages in Greek police undermine the sense of security of citizens and hence the quality of their lives. The effect is fear about one’s life far beyond of any fear for loss of cash or other valuable items.
According to a recent survey, seven out of ten residents of Athens are worried that they may fall victim to a crime.
In some areas like Pikermi, Attica, concerned citizens have created a “patrol group” making use of online applications.
The Survey
Seven out of ten residents of the Greek capital Athens are worried that they may fall victim to a crime. According to the study, which was carried out by the Geochoros research team at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) for daily Kathimerini, 69 percent of respondents are concerned about becoming the victim of a burglary, mugging or other crime.
Researchers used the responses to an online questionnaire posted on the NTUA’s website to compile their findings.
The highest level of concern was about potential burglaries, with four in 10 (41.8 percent) respondents saying they feared a break-in.
Three in 10 (31.3 percent) said they feared street muggings, with around the same proportion (30.7 percent) expressing concern about their children’s safety on their way to school or in public parks.
Nearly three in 10 (28 percent) said they were worried about drug dealing in their area, with 26.7 percent saying they feared that their car would be stolen and 26 percent expressing concern about falling victim to a mugging or other crime while traveling on public transport.
The answers show that women are more afraid of men that they may fall victim to physical violence (12.2%) and sexual abuse (26.7%).
Asked whether they believed there had been a spike in crime in their neighborhood in the past two years, nearly four in 10 (38.6 percent) said yes.
The highest rate of fear of muggings was expressed by residents of downtown districts of Athens including Exarchia, Akadimia Platonos, Petralona, Gyzi, Kypseli, Lycabettus Hill and the municipality of Acharnes, northern Athens.
Dioni Alert System
In Dioni by Pikermi in North-East Attica, locals have created an online alert group where they can better alert each other if they see something suspicious in their neighborhood. Making use of modern technology, dozens of locals with mobile phones have created an alert group, an online patrol group so to say on Vibe. In the group, they reportedly refer any “suspicious” move or any move that can be considered as “threat” with the purpose that they either intervene with physical presence or alert the authorities.
Messages translation:
-Where are you?
– Who are they?
– Police has been briefed, it’s going to check them. they came out of a fence….
“It works better than alert system. It is as if one informs all the neighbors they moment one feels under threat,” the mastermind behind the initiative Dioni Alert, Konstantinos Kanellopoulos, told news website zougla.gr.
Kanellopoulos made reference to a couple of incidents that he believes crime was averted because of the alert group and where the buglers “had to think twice” before committing a crime.
