Civil protection
Central Government
The central government, in particular the Ministry of Interior, is responsible for:
- The supervision and control of the Civil Defence System;
- Formulation and implementation of the government's policy in relation to civil defence;
- Coordination of the services and organisations of civil defence, and
- Participation in the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism.
- The Cyprus Police service, which has a unit dedicated to Emergency response.
The civil defence tasks are managed by the Civil Defence Forces. These tasks include first aid, telecommunications, welfare and fire-fighting, rescue and neighbourhood watching.
The Ministry of Justice and Public order is responsible for:
- The maintenance of law and order
- the preservation of peace
- the prevention and detection of crime
- the conclusion of bilateral agreements and the accession of the Republic to multilateral conventions on legal/judicial co-operation, on security matters and on the prevention and combat of crime.
- Managing the country's prisons
- Conducting research with the aim of mitigating and preventing criminal actions.
Responsible ministries/bodies
The Ministry of Interior
The Department of Civil Defence
The Ministry of Justice and Public order
Cyprus Police
Province Level
The ministry of Interior has 5 province offices for Civil Defence, though these are centrally managed by the Department of Civil Defence.
The Cyprus Police service has six provinces Directories, though these are centrally managed and not under the autonomy of district administrations.
District Administrations otherwise administer policies of the central government and have no other known competencies in civil protection.
Local SAA
Municipalities are responsible for:
- Banning any profession that might entail risks for the public order;
- determining when a building poses risks for its inhabitants, neighbours and the rest of the community. They also have to remedy the situation;
- informing individuals or institutions that their activities or possessions have been reported as causing disturbances;
- under certain circumstances, the municipality can also remedy the situation and halt the disturbing activity.
Communities are responsible for:
- Banning any profession that might entail disturbances for the community or risks for the public order.
The Pegeia Community Services operate in Coral Bay, Sea Caves, Agios Georgios and Pegia and surrounding areas under the autonomy of municipalities. They act as a Neighbourhood Watch.
Municipalities and communities can implement similar initiatives within their fiscal budgets.