Police union criticizes mandatory psychiatric hospitalization procedures in Cyprus

During a session of the Parliamentary Health Committee on September 10, 2026, Nikos Loizidis, Vice President of the ISOTITA union and head of the Police Branch, highlighted severe issues regarding mandatory psychiatric hospitalization procedures in Cyprus. He described a system where police officers are forced to perform roles outside their expertise, including breaking into homes and handcuffing individuals in mental distress, as well as transporting them in police vehicles to hospitals or police holding cells.

Loizidis argued that the current framework, based on a 1997 law, effectively forces police officers to act as mental health evaluators. He highlighted that the legal process often leads to traumatizing encounters, including long waits in hospitals alongside other patients. The union representative criticized the archaic nature of these mandates and called for legislative reform to better integrate technology, such as video conferencing, to allow judges to interact with patients remotely when psychiatric assessments are already available, thereby bypassing the need for unnecessary police custody measures.

The union is urging lawmakers to modernize the legal requirements to ensure that mental health patients receive appropriate professional care rather than being treated as criminals. No immediate change to the legislation was confirmed, but the testimony serves as a formal call to action for the Parliamentary Health Committee to overhaul the existing system.