The Hellenic Police (, abbreviated ) is the national police service and one of the three security forces of Greece (the others being the Hellenic Fire Service and the Hellenic Coast Guard). It is a large agency with responsibilities ranging from road traffic control to counter-terrorism. Police Lieutenant General Dimitrios Mallios is Chief of the Hellenic Police. He replaced Lazaros Mavropoulos in January 2024. The Hellenic Police force was established in 1984 under Law 1481/1-10-1984 (Government Gazette 152/A/8-10-1984) as the result of the merger of the Gendarmerie (, Chorofylakí, 1833–1984) and the Cities Police (, Astynomía Póleon, 1921–1984) forces.Law 1481/1-10-1984 published in the Government Gazette 152/A/8-10-1984 (Official Journal of the Hellenic Republic – FEK).
According to Law 7187/2025 which reorganized, upgraded and modernized the Hellenic Police's structure, mission and modus operandi, replacing the previous Law 2800/2000, the Hellenic Police is a security force whose primary missions are: the Protection of the State, including The Protection of the Democratic Regime and the State Institutions The Neutralization of Threats which Risk the State's Security The Protection of State Officials, Local and Foreign, who are Located in the Country The Inspection of Compliance with Laws regarding Weapons and Explosive Devices The Tackling of Terrorism and Extremist Violence Public Security, including The Prosecution of Crimes Against Life & Personal Freedom and Property Crimes The Prosecution of Cybercrime The Prosecution of Narcotics Trafficking The Prosecution of Illegal Trade and Antiquities Smuggling The Prosecution of Human Trafficking The Prosecution of Financial Crime The Prosecution of Domestic and Transborder Organized Crime The Search for Missing Persons, as well as for Lost and Stolen Items The Search and Arrest of Prosecuted Persons General and Traffic Policing, including The Assurance of Social Peace and Citizen Protection The Maintenance of Order in Public Spaces and Public Gatherings and the Protection of the Personal and Collective Rights of Citizens during said Conditions The Inspection of the Lawful Operation of Stores The Transport of Prisoners from Detention Facilities to the Courts of Law The Inspection of Compliance with Tourist Laws The Regulation of Traffic in Public Spaces The Enforcement of Traffic Laws and Regulations The Investigation of Traffic Accidents Community Policing, including The Protection of Human Rights and the Fundamental Freedoms secured by the Constitution The Protection of Family Integrity and the Tackling of Domestic Violence The Tackling of Gender-Based Violence The Tackling of Hate Crimes, specifically the Prosecution of Offences against Persons or Groups due to their race, skin color, ethnic descent, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity or characteristics The Protection of Underage or other Vulnerable Individuals Foreigners Policing and Border Protection, including The Prevention, Deterrence and Suppression of Illegal Entry and Exit of Foreign Citizens to the Country, as well as their Illegal Employment The Tracking and Arrest of Foreign Citizens who Enter, Exit, Reside and Work Illegally in the Country and their Referral to the Judicial Authorities or their Repatriation, as well as the Tracking and Arrest of Persons who Illegally Traffic or Facilitate the Illegal Entry, Exit and Employment of the Foreign Persons and their Referral to the Judicial Authorities The Detention of Foreigners who have Illegally Entered or Reside in the Country in Specific Detention Facilities The Hellenic Police is constituted along central and regional lines. The force takes direction from the Minister for Citizen Protection.
Structure Overview The Hellenic Police forceThe Hellenic Police Headquarters is at 4 Panagioti Kanellopoulou Avenue Street, 101 77, Athens, Greece, next to the Ministry of Citizen Protection. is headed in a de jure sense by the Minister for Citizen Protection (in a similar way that many US Police Departments give an elected civilian the role of Commissioner), and although the Minister sets the general policy direction of Greece's stance towards law and order as a whole, the Chief of Police is the day-to-day head of the force. Underneath the Chief of Police is the First Deputy Chief (Deputy of Operations), who oversees and coordinates all Operations and Special Police Forces across the country in accordance to the Chief's orders and ensures the police force is adequately prepared to handle all types of incidents and crises. In addition, in the event of the Chief of Police being unable to assume his duties, they will take over as the interim head. Underneath the First Deputy Chief is the Second Deputy Chief (Deputy of Staff), who heads the five Staff General Directorates of the Hellenic Police, which in turn coordinate all central and regional services of the force in order to ensure the enforcement of its five primary missions. The Policing and Security General Directorate is by far the most important, and includes the Policing Directorate, the Community Policing Directorate, the Public Security Directorate, the State Security Directorate (a directorate protecting the state and its interests equivalent to the NSA in the US, which replaced the National Security Service after its abolition in 1984), the Passports and Other Security Documents Directorate and the International Police Cooperation Directorate. Equal in rank to the Chief and the Deputy Chiefs, are the General Police Coordinators of Southern and Northern Greece, who have under their jurisdiction the regional services of both these administrative divisions.
Regional jurisdiction Greece is divided into two sectors for policing, both headed by a General Police Coordinator with the rank of Lieutenant General. These sectors both contain several regions, headed by Regional Directors, usually with the rank of Major General or sometimes with the rank of Brigadier General.
Southern Greece (General Police Coordinator: Lt. Gen. Nikolaos Spiridakis) Attica Region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Athanasios Kampras) Central Greece region – (Regional Director: Brig. Gen. Konstantinos Pelekanos) Peloponnese region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Elias Axiotopoulos) West Greece region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Theodoros Tsatsaris) Ionian Islands region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Dimitrios Voulgaris) South Aegean region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Loukas Thanos) Crete region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Georgios Doukis)
Northern Greece (General Police Coordinator: Lt. Gen. Georgios Papadopoulos) Thessaloniki region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Georgios Tzimas) East Macedonia and Thrace region – (Regional Director: Brig. Gen. Lampros Tsiaras) Central Macedonia region – (Regional Director: Brig. Gen. Fani Giouvannopoulou) West Macedonia region – (Regional Director: Brig. Gen. Nikolaos Exarchos) Thessaly region – (Regional Director: Brig. Gen. Georgios Dizes) Epirus region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Konstantinos Kakousis) North Aegean region – (Regional Director: Maj. Gen. Michael Sevdynidis) Note: While Thessaloniki is not considered a region from a geographical and administrative standpoint, the Thessaloniki General Police Directorate operates as a General Regional Police Directorate and is considered the Hellenic Police's "Northern Greece HQ".
Directorates and Services
The Hellenic Police force has several Independent Central Services under the authority of the Chief of Police (called Special Investigative Directorates with national investigative jurisdiction, which work in conjunction with regional and other police services where necessary) and the 2 Deputy Chiefs (Directorates which mostly oversee and coordinate the various regional services and units). These Directorates are usually headed by Major Generals and Brigadier Generals. They are as follows:
Overseen by the Chief of Police:
Intelligence Management and Analysis Directorate ( – ) – This Directorate as well as all its Regional Departments compile, manage and analyze every piece of intelligence gathered by the different police services around the country and collaborate closely with the National Intelligence Service of Greece in order to create comprehensive profiles for criminals and criminal organizations and assist investigative services in their work – (Director: Brig. Gen. Kyriakos Dimitriou) Subdirectorate of Intelligence Management and Analysis of Northern Greece Regional Departments of Intelligence Management and Analysis Organized Crime Directorate ( – ) – The newest directorate of the Hellenic Police, which started operating on October 21, 2024, and has been dubbed the "Greek FBI", with the duty to combat Organized Crime across the country. It is headquartered in Attica, but there also operates the Subdirectorate of Organized Crime of Northern Greece in Thessaloniki and the Subdirectorate of Organized Crime of Crete in Heraklion. – (Director: Maj. Gen. Photis Ntouitsis) Subdirectorate of Narcotics General Investigations and International Cooperation Department Cocaine Department Heroin Department Cannabis and Synthetic Drugs Department Athens International Airport Narcotics Department Subdirectorate of Property Crimes and Crimes Against Life Crimes Against Life and Personal Freedom Department (colloquially known as Homicide Department) Property Crimes Department Extortion Crimes Department Subdirectorate of Human Trafficking and Illegal Items Trafficking Human Trafficking Department Illegal Items Trafficking Department National Cultural Heritage and Antiquities Protection Department Subdirectorate of Financial Crimes Public Property and European Resources Protection Department Private Property Protection Department Economy Protection Department Insurance Fraud Department Tax Affairs Department Subdirectorate of Organized Athletic Violence Sports Games Protection Department Special Investigations Department Intelligence Department Subdirectorate of Intelligence and Operations Intelligence Management and Strategy Analysis Department Intelligence Management and Operational Analysis Office Strategic Analysis Office Intelligence Systems Office Technical Applications Department Witness Protection Department Special Interrogations Department Special Operational Units Department Prevention and Mediation Units Subdirectorate of Administrative Support Budget Management Department Inventory and Gear Management Department Technical Support Department Processing Department Subdirectorate of Organized Crime of Northern Greece Department of Narcotics Department of Property Crimes and Crimes against Life Department of Human Trafficking and Illegal Items Trafficking Department of Financial Crime Department of Organized Athletic Violence Department of Intelligence and Operations Department of Administrative Support Subdirectorate of Organized Crime of Crete Department of Narcotics Department of Special Criminal Activities Special Operational Units Office Department of Human Trafficking and Illegal Items Trafficking Department of Financial Crime Department of Intelligence and Administrative Support Intelligence Management Office Technical Support Office Special Violent Crimes (Counter-Terrorism) Directorate ( – ) – (Director: Maj. Gen. Miltiadis Siafis) Domestic Terrorism Department International Terrorism Department State and Democracy Protection Department Operations and Special Inspections Department Administrative Support Department Intelligence Management Department Subdirectorate of Special Violent Crimes of Northern Greece Cyber Crime Directorate ( – ) – (Director: Brig. Gen. Basileios Mpertanos) Telecommunications & Digital Transactions Safety and Software & Copyright Protection Department Juvenile Online Protection Department