Athens: The cash-strapped Greek state is now
looking to a new way of raising revenues -- renting out its
policemen at an hourly rate of 30 euros, with patrol cars
going for 10 euros more.
This will "pay for the cost of using police material and
infrastructure, and allow to modernise them", the ministry of
citizen protection which is in charge of the country's
security services said in a statement today.
Such police services used in "exceptional cases" such as
in escorting the transportation of dangerous material or art
works, were previously offered free of charge, said the
ministry.
But now, hourly fees of 200 euros (260 dollars) will be
charged for patrol boats and 1,500 euros for helicopters,
according to Sunday newspaper Proto Thema, which revealed the
internal reform.
The ministry said it would only accept such rentals if
they do not affect the security forces' operational capacity.
Greece has a total public debt of over 350 billion euros,
and was twice forced to obtain bailout funds from the European
Union and International Monetary Fund to stave off bankruptcy.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, April 08, 2012, 21:44