Editorial: Mission

The data in a report published today in Ta Nea leave no doubt about the fact that, in the battle against crime, the state is losing.

This is not the only defeat that undermines the authority of the state, making its organs seem powerless in handling common criminal offenses.

This is a defeat that undermines one of the fundamental reasons for the existence of the state: the protection of life and property.

Consequently, the state has a perpetual duty to rise to the occasion in carrying out its mission, which is to protect the citizenry from all manner of criminal activity, and above all to protect them in the sacred sanctuary that is their home.

It is inconceivable for the privacy and security of that home to be violated by anyone. It is impermissible for the police log to register every day two break-ins at homes.

These data alone underline the need for the immediate mobilisation of the competent authorities.

No citizen would reach the point of defending himself with his own means, placing his own life in danger – as occurred recently with an octogenarian – if the state and police had fulfilled their mission at all levels: prevention, patrols, and immediate intervention.

The responsibility rests above all with the political leadership of the Civil Protection Ministry.

The sense of security enjoyed by Greek society in past decades should at long last return, both within and outside our homes.