Police organization and police reform in Germany: the case of North Rhine-Westphalia.

VerfasserFrevel, Bernhard
PostenReport

1 Introduction

If one concerns oneself with questions of the organization and reform of the police from a political-science perspective, then it is appropriate to analyze these as aspects of a policy field. Even though the police is fundamentally different from other authorities (and in particular from private enterprises) (see Jaschke 2006:154), in the sense that it has a monopoly on force with its legalised, regimented and controlled readiness to implement it, at its core it is just as much a component of public authority as other official organizations (see Lange/Schenck 2004a: 336). Police policy is therefore a special case within public administration policy. To be more specific, police policy deals with "the fundamental questions concerning the structure and organisational set-up [.], aimed at the deployment and use of personnel and resources of the police authorities, as well as the way in which police authority is administered" (Lange/Schenck 2004a: 134). As with administrative policy in general, police policy is frequently a reform policy and must be analysed accordingly (see Bogumil/Jann 2009:300). Consequently this article examines how the organisation adapts to changing demands, the procedure, persons and instruments of the police, and shows the difficulties of the processes behind them.

If one analyses police organizational reform or police management issues in Germany against this background, it would be advisable in view of the heterogeneity of the policy landscape (see GroB/Frevel/Dams 2008) not to consider all police forces, which often have contradictory development tendencies, but to study the process of one force as an example.

This article is conceived as a case study and--as in the comparative study "Het betwiste politiebestel. De organisatie van de politie in Nederland, Belgie, Denemarken, Duitsland EN het Verenigd Koninkrijk vergeleken" (Cachet et al. 2009)--will look at the police in North-Rhine/Westphalia (NRW). The federal state with the largest population and nationally the largest police force was selected, since from there important impulses emanate for the development of the German police as a whole:

* Advocates (see Gintzel/Mollers 1987, Dietel/ Kniesel 1985) of the idea of a "citizens' police force", which began emerging in the mid 1980s, and whose activities were based more on etatist ideals ("The police as the personification of state power") rather than the belief in the sovereignty of the people according to Art. 20 [section]2GG, predominantly came from (the police of) NRW (see Winter 1998:207 f). The reference to the constitution, to its principles and fundamental rights, which the police have to protect, provides police action with the legitimate basis according to the concept of "citizens' police".

* In the early 1990s, the state Minister of the Interior for NRW commissioned the management consultant Kienbaum GmbH (see 1991) to carry out an evaluation of the function of the security police. The introduction of the dual career path in the police was primarily based on this appraisal--even beyond the boundaries of NRW.

* With the implementation of reforms under the umbrella of "New Public Management" (NPM), NRW has performed a pioneering role in Germany since the beginning of the 1990s (see Lange/Schenck 2004b: 53 f). The organizational reforms carried out in NRW within the police and the corresponding understanding of management can thus in principle be seen as the prototype for NPM reforms in Germany, taking conditions specific to the state into account. (1)

2 The police in Germany

Police authority of the "federal states" ("Lander"), in other words the member states of the Federal Republic of Germany can, against the background the past 60 years, be seen as an extension of German federalism. "The police are a concern of the federal state" has long been an important statement for the policy field of internal security in the Federal Republic of Germany. This statement is not wholly correct--as will be shown later--but it shows a basic tendency.

In principle it is true to say that police policy is a concern of the federal states. It is incumbent on them to hire and train police officers, to create an organizational framework for the various police tasks in the areas of public safety and the deployment of officers, crime control and prosecution, road safety, victim protection and crime prevention in order to fulfil the police duty. The Basic Law ("Grundgesetz" [GG]) stipulates only three areas in which police authority is a national concern. In accordance with article 73 (10) GG the federation has the exclusive legislative authority for "co-operation between the Federation and the states: a) in criminal investigation, b) for the protection of the free democratic constitutional structure, its continuance and the security of the Federation or a state (protection of the constitution) and c) in the protection against attempts on federal territory, which through the use of force or preparatory acts of such, endanger the foreign interests of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the maintenance of a Federal Criminal Police Office and the combat of international crime". In accordance with art. 73, 9a GG the Federation is also responsible for "the defence of the dangers of international terrorism by the Federal Criminal Police Office in cases where there is nationwide danger, the responsibility of a police authority is not apparent or where the highest state authority requests a transfer of competence". In accordance with art. 87 (1) 2 GG the Federation is also responsible for border control, which is carried out by the Federal Police (formerly the Federal Border Guard). All other police tasks are fulfilled in principle (2) by the state police.

If the main responsibility for the police is thus on a state level, this then means also that 16 state ministers of the interior act as the highest authority of the police, that 16 state parliaments decide on 16 different police regulations and police organization laws, that there are numerous ideas for the education and training of police officers, and that even as far as equipment is concerned--from the uniform to armament--no standard national regulations can be expected. The structural organisation in the states varies considerably and even the concept of organisation is by no means consistent. Whereas in some states the highest police authority is a department of the Interior Ministry, others have a separate organizational entity, the so called "Landespolizeiprasidium"--with only slight differences in actual jurisdiction. The police authority in one state may be referred to as the "Kreispolizeibehorde" or "district police authority", while in another state the same entity is called "Polizeiprasidium" or "Polizeidirektion". Authorities in one state may allocate specific tasks--such as particular technical services--to a police constabulary (Hessen: Constabulary for Technology, Logistics and Administration), in another state they are the jurisdiction of the regional state authority (North Rhine-Westphalia [NRW]: Regional office for Central Police Services).

But also in other areas, there is evidence of diversity due to federalism. While some states retain the so-called "three-tier career path" for the police, and thus have a work force at the intermediate level of service, who have completed the vocational training, other states choose the "two-tier career path", in which a university qualification is required. While in some states this academic training may take place in special police universities, e.g. in Saxon-Anhalt, Saxony, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hamburg, other states integrate the department of police academic training into departments of the Interior Ministry's own universities of applied sciences, such the department of general administration, as is the case for example in Hessen or NRW. In 2007 Lower Saxony went its own way by founding a police academy, and since 2009 the University of Economics and Law in Berlin offers the course "Police Studies", the first time an internal police course has been integrated into a regular university. There are further differences between the police forces concerning for example the legal provision regarding e.g. special search authority or "the last resort shot" with which a hostage-taker may be shot and killed.

The fact that a certain uniformity in the police in Germany does exist in spite of the many differences, is due particularly to three elements: (1) at the General Conference of the National and State Interior Ministers substantial aspects of the policy of internal security are agreed upon and coordinated; (2) the standards for the central criminal law, law of criminal procedure and traffic law are as a Federal Law the same for all police forces and thereby lead to a large extent to a standard police assignment, and (3) the upper service level of all German police forces are trained together at the German Police University in Munster, whereby the basic understanding of police activity and management is harmonized. With these connecting elements a kind of "unity in diversity" has evolved in Germany (see GroB/Frevel/Dams 2008: 36).

With the portrayal of the police system in Germany with the two nationally responsible forces in the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Police, as well as the 16 state forces, it is already apparent that there are no more additional municipal police forces in Germany (3) and that--unlike in many other European countries--there is no force assigned to the Ministry of Defence, as is the case for example with the Carabinieri in Italy.

3 Police organization and police organization reform in NRW

3.1 Development of the structural organization 1945-2007

In 1946 the state of NRW was created from parts of Prussia and the Rhine province as well as the former state of Lippe. After the Second World War the state was under British occupation...

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