Over 6.776 women can be found today among the ranks of the Hellenic Police Force today, representing more than 12,6% of the Force΄s staff.
Women and men in the Police Force receive equal treatment, as far as joining the Force is concerned, but also training, working hours, payment and gear they are entitled to carry.
Since the year 2003, women enter the Police Academies and join the Police Force without any special quota reserved for them while complying with the same criteria as the ones applied to men. On the contrary, in the past women entered the Police Academies up to a percentage of 10% of the numbers of men. The same absence of quotas is the case regarding police agents and civilians entering and joining the ranks of police officers assigned with special duties.
Women police agents undergo the same training as men, at the same Police Academies whereas they also participate in the same training seminars (of self defense and self protection, VIP protection etc).
It should also be mentioned that Greece is one of the few countries in Europe, in which the career of women in the Police Force is not restricted to any limits whatsoever.
Moreover, for the first time in Europe a woman police officer was promoted to Police Major General in the year 2002.
Woman Police Agent Profile
- Women today serve in all fields of the Hellenic Police Force, either as members of staff or on active service.
For instance, reference should be made to the following figures:
| Hellenic Police Force | 296 |
| Headquarters Services Security (Homicide, Vice, Foreigners, Drugs, Minors and other services) | 1639 |
| VIP Security | 59 |
| Transport-Court Services | 35 |
| Traffic Police | 690 |
From the total number of women of the Hellenic Police Force:
- 26 are Heads of Police Divisions (Police Departments, Security Departments, Traffic Police Departments, and Police Stations etc).
- 84 are employed at the Special Violent Crime Squad, 6 at the Department of Explosive Devices Disposal and 4 at the Helicopter Gunships Department of the Hellenic Police Force.
- 52 are employed abroad, attached to Diplomatic Agencies (Embassies) and International Agencies (Europol, Interpol etc).
- 194 have special duties (physicians, chemists etc), employed at the medical offices of the Hellenic Police Force, at the laboratories of the Forensic Division (department of fingerprints, chemical laboratory, DNA analysis department, forgery, graphology department etc) and other services of the Hellenic Police.
- 352 women of the Hellenic Police Force hold a University Degree. Most of them have a major in Law, Medical School, Arts as well as Economics.
- 6.146 are mothers.
- Furthermore 4.914 women police agents are fluent in at least one foreign language.
Among the languages that women police officers command, besides the most ordinary (English, French, Italian, Spanish, German), the following can also be found:
| ARABIC | 3 |
| BULGARIAN | 3 |
| SERBOCROATIAN | 1 |
| RUSSIAN | 13 |
| PORTUGUESE | 1 |
| SWEDISH | 5 |
| UKRAINIAN | 1 |
| JAPANESE | 1 |
| RUMANIAN | 2 |
Background
The landmarks in the course of women in the Hellenic Police Force are the following:
1969: First 45 women join the former Urban Police Force.
1971: 25 women are hired under the status of special women staff in the then Gendarmerie Service.
1983: Women police agents are allowed to enter the Police Academy with a quota of 10% of the seats available.
2003: Quotas are abolished and the same criteria of entry to the Police Force apply for both men and women.
Today: Women are employed in all services of the Hellenic Police Force and represent 10% of staff
Helicopter Gunships Department
Department of Explosive Devices Disposal
Attica Road Traffic Police Division
