STOPCRIME INITIATIVE

This letter has been issued in Greek, Russian and English by Russian residents who wish to see improvements in the Police service on the island, and reduction in the crime rate.  The letter has gone to the main political parties in Cyprus.

They are also organising protests outside the Police Station in Kennedy Square [last one held on 14 May] and are planning a petition signing exercise at Paphos Fort on 30 June [of which more details will follow in due course].

Dear party authorities,

I represent a group of public activists, who organize a StopCrime movement in different cities in Cyprus (currently Paphos and Limassol).

We are deeply concerned about increasing crime rate: double murder in Nicosia, shooting in Ipsonas, increased burglaries and robberies all over the island is the tendency to be treated as early as possible before it’s too late. 

We think that the crime rate decrease statistics, that the police recently provided does not fully reflect the real situation, as there exists a tendency not to report the incidents to the police because they don’t provide adequate help. 

The level of criminality is not only the problem of Cyprus residents’ but also might harm the reputation of the island for tourists and investors.

Our aim is
- to draw Cyprus official authorities' attention to the problem, influence reforms in crime prevention and investigation procedures
- to initiate legislative activities aimed for crime prevention, giving broader rights for people to protect themselves and their property
- to organize anti-drugs campaigns focusing in the first place on teenagers and youth
- to organize informational campaigns for the people on how to protect their homes and make them less attractive to thieves and burglars
- to motivate and help in organization of local neighborhood watch initiatives
- to provide legislative support for the victims of crimes

Our first steps were organization of a protest meetings near district administration (in Limassol) and near police office (in Paphos) on May the 14th. Also we initiated signatures collection for the petition to the authorities - this activity is ongoing now.

We're going to organize more public events, spread informational leaflets, spread a word about the problem and the ways to solve it in mass media.

The next events are planned for June the 30th in Paphos (near Paphos Castle) and on June the 23rd in Limassol (Molos)

We ask your for support of our initiatives and propose to participate in our upcoming events.
We really believe, that this problem is the one that affects everybody.

Kindest regards,
coordinator of StopCrime initiative in Limassol
Ksenia Mukhortova,
coordinator of StopCrime initiative in Paphos
Irina Yakimovich”