Leonhard Höfner always knew which path he wanted to take professionally: The Garching native wanted to go to the police. In 1999, at the age of 17 at the time, he began his training and has been working in the Oberschleissheim police station since 2004. Höfner worked there as a youth officer for twelve years. Now the 39-year-old police chief has taken on a new post. As a contact officer, he wants to be an approachable point of contact for all Garchingers in the future and thus help to give the police a friendly face.
SZ: Mr. Höfner, in July you replaced your colleague Volker Kratschmann and have been a contact officer for Garching at the Oberschleissheim police station ever since. What attracted you to the post?
Leonhard Höfner: I went to the police to be a friend and helper. Unfortunately, my impression is that the police officers are often viewed differently – above all from those who issue sentences. Positive contact with police officers is rare. As a contact officer, you have the opportunity to talk to people without the background of an assignment and you can perhaps also explain why we sometimes act the way we do. My goal is to make people understand that the police make a valuable contribution to society.
What are your main tasks as a contact officer?
As the name suggests, I want to establish contact. If there are minor problems for which you might not dial 110 straight away, be it a neighborhood dispute or a problem on the way to school, it is good if there is a contact person at the police who is familiar with the matter.
As a police officer, how do you manage to convey this closeness?
I walk a lot and in uniform in Garching. This is why the contact officers used to be called strollers. When the police are just the anonymous behind the uniform, it is rather difficult for people to bring up perhaps personal issues as well. As a Garching native, I have the advantage that a lot of people know me here, also from clubs or privately, and accordingly also dare to speak to me. I hope that, with my 22 years of experience in the police force, I will be able to help or find the right contact person – for example, with questions about how to protect your house from burglars, how to behave properly if you are a victim of a crime or what to be done in case of attempted fraud on the phone.
How do you experience the image of the police among the population at the moment? Has the corona pandemic, in which the police often had to enforce the regulations of the Infection Protection Act, damaged the image of the police?
That is an extremely difficult point. There were also very different opinions on the part of politics on the corona measures. The problem for us police officers is basically: You have your own opinion, but you have to adhere to the official rules and enforce them. I hope that every policewoman here also shows a good instinct and assesses whether a punishment is proportionate in a certain case or whether there is actually no danger here.
How do you behave yourself in this complicated situation?
I try to do a lot of advice instead of issuing penalties. In my experience, speaking to you often helps more and more effectively than a fine, for example in traffic. I believe it is important to have the understanding of the population and to gain understanding, especially for such serious measures as those during the corona pandemic. Overall, I hope that the police image will not suffer from the Corona period, but that we will get out of this pandemic rather well.
Leonhard Höfner, 39, started his training with the police in 1999 and has been working at PI Oberschleißheim since 2004. After years as a youth officer, the police chief is now a contact officer for the police in Garching.
(Photo: private)
Young people in particular have suffered greatly from the Corona measures, especially due to the contact restrictions. Have you experienced more problems recently?
Overall, the young people I met showed understanding for the protective measures, but of course they also had a great urge to meet. In my experience, young people need a clear line; if this becomes blurred, boundaries are quickly exceeded. However, the Corona requirements have often changed, which was difficult. I have had good experiences with direct speeches, because the young people were then mostly sensible and went home. But of course this is easier with smaller groups than with such large groups as in Munich in the English Garden.
Leonhard Höfner is the contact officer at the Oberschleissheim police station for Garching. The police chief can be reached for questions personally in Garching or by telephone on 089/31 56 41 32.