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He wears a badge, but no gun . . . but, watch
out; he does have a citation book!
“Of course, the function of the municipal
police is preventive and not punitive, but I have written a few
citations in my time,” said Kostas Martimianakis, the affable, but serious,
officer who represents the entire police force of the Gouves Township.
Up until two years ago, the township
had a two-man force, with the other officer handling immigration matters.
However, due to the large influx of foreigners in the area, a separate
immigration office was opened, and the police force was cut in half.
“Now, I try to handle everything on my
own,” Officer Martimianakis said, sitting behind a desk heaped with folders
and files. “You might say I wear one uniform and 13 different hats.
Understandably, with no proper staff, and so much to do, there is very
little organization.”
For example, the municipal police has
the responsibility to enforce all municipal orders with regard to:
littering; street cleaning; traffic and parking; building construction;
water supply; irrigation; sewerage; noise pollution; sea pollution from land
sources; protection of above and below ground water reserves and
environmental matters.
“Basically, I must insure that everyone
in our township abides by the regulative decisions voted by the town
council,” the 35-year-old policeman told us.
Whew . . . but wait, there’s more.
“Also, I must check that regulations
are followed involving the legal operation of street markets, as well as all
small businesses and food stalls which operate on public grounds. Plus, I
must insure that all public works carried out on our local streets use the
proper signage to alert drivers and pedestrians of the dangers.”
No, that’s still
not all.
“In licensing of
restaurants, beauty salons, cafeterias and stables, I must make sure that
they meet all the health code criteria, and I do try to expedite that
paperwork as people’s livelihoods depend on it. And, last but not least, I
must see that all fines decided on by the counsel are properly and orderly
carried out and effectively guard all municipal properties. And, keep
in mind, our township, in size, is one of the Crete’s largest – from Kartero
to Aposelemi.”
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Speaking of fines . . .
we interjected when he paused to take a breath, Officer Martimianakis, who
has been a Gouves policeman since 2000, was asked about all the littering
throughout the township in the form of posters pasted on public and private
building sites and electric poles – including many political posters still
up from the last election.
“Yes, of course, those are illegal and should come down,” he
said. “Our demos’ clean-up crew should have taken these down already as it
involves our town officials. Cultural and civic associations that put up
posters announcing certain events should remove them after the event is over
or be billed for clean-up expenses.”
Officer Martimianakis emphasized that
the demos should determine a posting area where you would pay a fee, post
the information, and be responsible for removing it or pay for clean-up.
“Anywhere else in the township posting
would be illegal and fines would be issued immediately,” he said.
Another type of illegal posting is the
many billboards on top of buildings along the town roads. He said the
regular police brings suit against the building owners and the advertising
agencies.
“See those over there?” he asked, as we
drove past a building in Kato Gouves with huge billboards on top advertising
fur coats. “The police have already initiated a suit against them and if
they are not taken down in two months, then a clean-up crew from the demos
will do it and bill the parties involved.”
By the way, when we mentioned driving
past the billboards, let it be noted that we were in this reporter’s car –
as the Gouves municipal police force is without its own vehicle.
“The demos has one car for all the
departments,” he explained. “So if no one else is using it, then I get to
use it. Otherwise, I have to try to catch rides with other people. But,
hopefully, that will soon change.”
Officer Martimianakis was referring to
the announcement by the township that three additional policemen will be
employed around the first of next year, and a vehicle will be purchased to
be shared by the police and technical services departments.
“In that case 10 out of the 13
functions will be executed extremely well as the township will have a better
all-round policing with four people on the job and a car to make the rounds.
And,” he added with a sly smile, “what other police department gets
quadrupled in size with one stroke of the pen?”
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