extremism
“Stern”: 400 police officers from countries suspected of extremism
There were no current figures from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on how many police officers were being prosecuted on suspicion of right-wing extremist attitudes (symbolic image). photo
© Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
There can also be extremists and conspiracy ideologists in the security authorities. The interior ministers are trying to stop this.
According to a report by “Stern”, disciplinary or investigative proceedings are being conducted against at least 400 police officers in the federal states on suspicion of right-wing extremist views or support for a conspiracy ideology. This was the result of a query in the 16 interior ministries, reports the magazine. However, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Bremen and Thuringia did not provide any current figures.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul told “Stern”: “Police officers who do not stand on the basis of the constitution but instead pursue extremist views are a great danger to democracy and the rule of law.” The CDU politician said he didn’t want these people in the police force.
The magazine quotes the Bundestag’s police commissioner, Uli Grötsch (SPD), as saying: “We live in times in which right-wing extremists are deliberately trying to destabilize the police.” The danger is greater than ever.
Investigations into possible extremists in the ranks of federal and state security authorities have been ongoing for years. The Federal Ministry of the Interior had already published a situation report on this in 2022. At that time it became known that 327 employees had come to attention within three years because of demonstrable connections to right-wing extremism or the Reich Citizens scene.
GdP: Apply disciplinary law consistently
Federal chairman Jochen Kopelke said on behalf of the police union (GdP): “The investigations clearly show that there is a high level of sensitivity in the ranks of the police towards extremist activities among employees.” Officers who are proven to represent right-wing extremist attitudes or spread conspiracy stories have no place in the police.
Disciplinary law must therefore be applied consistently. However, it is also important “that in the event of false suspicions, the full rehabilitation of those falsely accused is restored,” Kopelke told the dpa. Given that there are around 330,000 federal and state police employees, the number of those being investigated is very small.
As a positive example, the GdP chairman highlighted a project by the Lower Saxony police, where so-called democracy sponsors work voluntarily. One of the tasks of these volunteers is to provide advice on how the police deal with populist and democracy-threatening phenomena.