The Cypriot government is confronting a multifaceted array of law enforcement challenges, as a push to legalize police use of conducted energy weapons coincides with a damning audit of a failed security procurement and a stark warning over impaired driving. Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis has commissioned a fresh study into authorizing tasers, revisiting a policy proposal shelved since 2019. This move unfolds against a backdrop of severe operational shortcomings exposed by the state auditor and a grim tally of traffic fatalities linked to substance abuse.
The initiative to equip officers with tasers, often categorized as less-lethal weaponry, is championed by police leadership as a critical tool for de-escalation. Dozens of the devices are currently held in storage, rendered inert by a 2004 statute that prohibits electric discharge weapons. Advocates argue that modern policing requires an intermediate option between verbal commands and lethal force. "They are a better alternative to using a gun, where you’d have to shoot and risk killing someone, or a baton, which requires getting close," stated police spokesperson Vyronas Vyronos. The original 2019 proposal stalled, but renewed parliamentary inquiry has prompted Minister Hartsiotis to order a revised analysis, signaling a potential shift in use-of-force protocols.
Concurrently, the Audit Office of Cyprus has published a scathing review of a seven-year, now-abandoned project to acquire anti-drone systems for critical infrastructure. The audit concluded that the initiative, which involved tenders in 2018 and 2021, was plagued by inadequate planning, flawed vendor assessment, and insufficient technical oversight. Notably, restrictive bidding criteria requiring prior experience with EU or UK airports effectively disqualified firms from key markets like the United States and Israel. The project's collapse in April 2025 represents a significant financial and strategic setback, leaving intended sites vulnerable to aerial threats.
On the nation's roads, a separate crisis is escalating. Police data from the first ten months of 2025 records over 3,200 alcohol-related and 869 drug-related driving offenses. A devastating week in late November saw four fatal collisions, with one case involving a motorist whose blood alcohol concentration was more than double the legal limit and who also tested positive for narcotics in a preliminary screening. Traffic Department Director Haris Evripidou highlighted systemic bottlenecks, noting that confirmatory drug testing at the State Chemistry Lab can take approximately a month, severely hampering timely prosecution. "If we conducted more roadside drug tests, we’d certainly see more positive results," Evripidou conceded, pointing to a likely under-detection of the problem.
Further addressing complex crime, Cypriot authorities are seeking expertise from their Greek counterparts to establish a dedicated agency targeting organized crime networks. High-level consultations in late 2025 involved Greek Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis and senior police officials, focusing on models for investigating sophisticated, cross-border criminality, underscored by cases such as the murder of businessman Marios Demosthenous.
Collectively, these developments depict a police force striving to modernize its toolkit and structures while grappling with profound institutional failures and persistent public safety threats. The outcomes of the taser study, the response to the audit, and the effectiveness of new cross-border collaborations will be critical indicators of Cyprus's capacity to evolve its law enforcement in the face of contemporary challenges.