As in many other sectors, the declining number of applicants is becoming increasingly difficult for Bavaria’s police force. For example, the riot police responsible for training could not fill 67 of the 1,568 training positions at the so-called qualification level 2, the former “middle service”, last year. This was announced by the Ministry of the Interior at the request of the German Press Agency in Munich. There were no problems in filling the approximately 180 training positions at the 3rd qualification level (formerly “superior service”).
The Ministry of the Interior cites a lack of sufficiently qualified applicants as reasons on the one hand, and on the other hand an increasing number of applicants have given up an apprenticeship position that was offered. “In total, however, significantly more police officers and police officers have started training than are retiring. In addition, the unrealized settings will be made up for in subsequent hiring appointments,” emphasized a spokesman.
In purely quantitative terms, the number of applicants in 2022 is already showing a massive decline: 10,400 people applied for the 1,570 positions, in 2021 there were still 13,600 applications for 1,510 positions and in 2020 a total of 12,200 applications for 1,650 positions. In contrast, the number of applicants for the “higher service” is largely stable, in 2022 it was 3400, 2021 3700 and 2020 3900 applications. In order to potentially reach more applicants, the age limit for the preparatory service for the specialist career in the police and the protection of the Constitution with a specialist focus on the police service has been raised from 26 to 31 years since the recruitment date in spring 2018.
The Bavarian police are “basically still a popular employer,” it said. This can also be seen in the “Trendence student barometer” published annually, in which students are asked about the most attractive employers and in which the police have been in the top spots for years. Nevertheless, the promotion of young talent has already been pushed.