THE CRIMINAL justice system in Cyprus is in crisis and unless the authorities act now, crime will increase in a unified federal Cyprus, Law Professor and criminologist Andreas Kapardis warned yesterday.
Kapardis, who was the Director of Prisons in the early nineties, is chairman of the bicommunal technical committee on crime, which operates in the framework of the current Cyprus negotiations.
He said crime had increased significantly over the past five years, while the system still lacked long term planning.
The prison was overcrowded and the administrative side of the judicial system was so overloaded it was in danger of collapse, Kapardis said in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency.
“It is my opinion that the system of criminal justice in Cyprus is in a state of crisis. It lacks scientific study, adequate staffing, expertise, and planning,” Kapardis said.
In addition to crimes committed by Cypriots, the system is facing new challenges as a result of immigration and the opening of crossing points between the two sides in 2003.
He said an upsurge had been observed in robbery, drugs-related crime, destruction of property and theft.
“It’s because of drugs that we see an increase in robberies,” said Kapardis. And the proliferation of drugs was mainly a result of the crossing points opening in 2003. There are six crossing points to and from the north.
Kapardis said criminals from both sides had always been in contact, but the links between them had strengthened since 2003.
“Criminals are always the first to establish relations,” he said.
However, Kapardis said crime in the government-controlled areas, although higher than it was in the past, was still low compared to the Turkish Cypriot side.
And, unless planning is undertaken immediately and good will is exhibited by both sides, crime in a united federal Cyprus would increase significantly.
Kapardis said the joint technical committee on crime was working on a proposal with the UN to prevent this happening.
“The purpose is to implement various measures under the umbrella of confidence building measures,” he said. “I believe we can work and succeed in this objective.”
This would dramatically improve the situation with regards to illegal immigration and drugs.
In the north, Kapardis said crimes generally involved drugs, explosives, guns, theft, robberies and burglaries, and were on the increase.
He also said there was a high rate of juvenile delinquency in the north, mainly involving the children of mainland Turks.
“When there is a reunited Cyprus, they will be able to move freely around the island and this will add to the propensity for higher crime rates,” he said.
“But we have progressed and have made a proposal which could be applied with the help of the United Nations and the co-operation of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides to contain and prevent crime.”
Kapardis said crime in general stemmed from social inequality.
“We have to invest in a just society and introduce such programmes that will help schoolchildren, through the family and the local community,” he said.
Kapardis said he was optimistic that through the right planning and good will, both sides could strike the right balance to tackle the situation.
He said the police were doing a good job with the resources that it has, and that Cyprus has a high crime detection rate compared to other EU countries.
But numbers needed to be boosted, he said.
