After a number of right-wing extremist scandals within the Hessian police, a commission of inquiry presented its final report. She calls for immediate reforms. Police President Ullmann caused a scandal after a media report.
“A critical moment has been reached for the police in Hesse,” said Angelika Nussberger in Wiesbaden on Monday. The former Vice President of the European Court of Human Rights chairs an independent commission that has investigated the misconduct and right-wing extremist statements made by Hessian officials. In the final report it has now submitted, the Commission calls for immediate reforms.
“Significant loss of trust in the population”
So the Hesse police should deal again and intensively with their mission statement. Candidates for the police service should be checked more comprehensively, also by the protection of the constitution. This includes a look at their activities on social media.
The commission also recommends strengthening the training and further education of police officers in the long term. The police should inform the public about possible further cases on their own initiative and make it clear to the outside that their investigation is carried out independently. For this purpose, the responsibility within the police for misconduct by officials should be regulated efficiently and competently.
The multitude of outrageous and sensational incidents led to a significant loss of confidence in the population, said Nussberger. Therefore it is necessary to tackle reforms in the police.
to make an example of
This has to be done so quickly and sustainably that the new beginning is immediately visible to everyone. “Hessen must set an example and show that it has the ambition to take on a pioneering role in the fight against right-wing extremism throughout Germany,” demanded Nussberger.
The expert group was convened after several scandals within the police.
- The special task force (SEK) of the Frankfurt police headquarters was disbanded because of the involvement of 19 SEK officers in chat groups with right-wing extremist content. This case came to light during the investigation into a police officer for child pornography.
- In addition, there was a possible involvement of the Hessian police in the threatening letters signed with “NSU 2.0” against politicians and women with a migration background and the investigation of a suspect only years later.
- Right-wing content was exchanged in a Whatsapp group of the Frankfurt police in 2018.
- A police officer is said to have stolen firearms and ammunition from the evidence room of the Frankfurt police headquarters over a long period of time.
- On the night of the racist terrorist attack in Hanau, not all incoming emergency calls were forwarded.
- The former police chief Udo Münch was dismissed after he had not passed on information about the “NSU 2.0” scandal to the interior minister.
Beuth promises immediate implementation
On the occasion of these cases, the Commission questioned more than 70 police officers, right-wing extremism experts, representatives and inter alia more than 70 police officers, right-wing extremism experts and representatives on the occasion of these cases with the awkward title “Police responsibility in a pluralistic society – Strengthening the good work of police officers, recognizing and punishing misconduct at an early stage” Representatives of minorities and journalists.
Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) said on Monday that the first recommendations of the investigative commission would be implemented immediately: “We have already set up a staff unit.” A neutral management consultancy should be ready for all around 20,000 employees. “Together we will ensure that the way there is open, transparent and designed in the spirit of a self-confident but also self-critical organization,” said the Minister of the Interior.
Possible scandal within the commission
Before Beuth presented the final report, it was according to information from the Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) There was a scandal: State Police President Roland Ullmann is said to have sent internal documents with critical passages to a number of police officers who were supposed to comment on the passages.
According to the FR, this was the preliminary report of the working group on data protection within the Commission. As a result, it contained the names of informants.
This caused displeasure within the commission because it was feared that critical voices within the police apparatus could be exposed. Whistleblowers were asked to comment on their statements – and under this pressure they distanced themselves from some of their statements.
Greatest threat to security and democracy
The growing right-wing extremism in the police, the special task forces and the Bundeswehr, as well as in the professional fire brigades, is the greatest threat to security and democracy, warned Commission vice-chairman Jerzy Montag: “There are still individuals and organized minorities, but it is it is important to defend against the beginnings. “
The federal government and the states are still not sufficiently ready to defend themselves against this challenge, said the legal expert and former Green MP.
“Time to roll up your sleeves”
The domestic political spokeswoman for the Greens in the state parliament agreed: “In this context, the work of the expert commission also names an important individual aspect: the practical shock,” said Eva Goldbach.
According to her, police officers who are well trained in many theoretical specialist areas often experience that they do not feel adequately prepared for practical problems of everyday police life, “which often leads to frustration, resignation and inner withdrawal”.
It is imperative that readjustments be made here, with mandatory offers for supervision and with sustainable personnel development. “Now is the time to roll up your sleeves and implement the proposals of the expert commission consistently,” said Goldbach.
Alexander Bauer, the domestic political spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, said: “The misconduct of individuals has recently put a strain on the population’s high level of trust in the Hessian police.” Therefore, the overriding goal is to restore trust as quickly as possible. “We want to strengthen the police officers’ good work, identify and punish misconduct at an early stage,” said Bauer.
Schaus: “Police officers are never allowed to investigate other police officers”
Hermann Schaus, domestic policy spokesman for the Die Linke parliamentary group, said: “The final report that has now been presented reveals a large number of decades of omissions by the Hessian police.” For Schaus, the announced changes are “not sufficient to consistently tackle the structural problems of the Hessian police.”
Police structures would have to be fundamentally democratized and disciplinary law changed. Schaus also called for external investigations into misconduct: “Police officers must never investigate other police officers.”
The incident reported by the Frankfurter Rundschau about Police President Ullmann shows: “The fish stinks from the head. In Peter Beuth’s ministry, the mice keep dancing on the table.” That is why a “real new beginning” is needed in the Hessian police.
SPD calls for a new beginning without Beuth
The parliamentary manager of the SPD parliamentary group, Günter Rudolph, said: “The report reveals how ineffective the measures taken so far under Minister Beuth have been.” Beuth had learned nothing from the incidents of the past months and years.
“That is why I also doubt whether the ‘considerable need for reform’ identified by the Commission can be tackled and successfully processed with this Minister of the Interior,” said Rudolph.
End of further information