Berlin police are planning structural reform: more presence on the streets!

Berlin police are planning structural reform: more presence on the streets!

Berlin, Deutschland - The Berlin police are faced with a comprehensive structural reform that aims to significantly increase the street presence of the officials. The first restructuring will be implemented in Tiergarten this year, where two police sections are merged. This project pursues the goal of reducing double work and creating synergies in the office in order to reduce the administrative effort. A total of seven new regional sections are planned to be built in the course of next year, reports rbb24 .

The police President Barbara Slovik Meisel expects a noticeable effect through this reform, with an estimate of 200 to 300 additional officials on the streets. While Slovik is optimistic, Frank Teichert from the German Police Union expresses skepticism. He emphasizes that the current lack of personnel makes an increase in police presence on the streets almost impossible. The two police unions are also demanding relief from non-core tasks to increase the effectiveness of the police.

first successes and challenges

The interior senator praises the reform process and emphasizes that well -organized police are of crucial importance for the security of Berlin. The reform approach has already shown early successes because the presence in crime -stressed places such as the Görlitzer Park was increased. The continuous organizational changes of the police, which have been planned since 2019, should also advance the combat of Islamist terrorism by founding the new LKA 8, according to Police reports-berlin.de .

With the establishment of the anti-terrorist center in the Ringbahnstrasse, another step is taken to react to the future increasing requirements. The new focal and presence unit (BPE) was created to increase the visibility and enforcement strength of the police. Cybercrime control is also strengthened by the reform, although this is not yet fully finalized.

Reform process in the House of Representatives

The planned structural reform also includes the reduction of the leaderships, with the aim of bringing more police officers onto the streets. The cross-border discourse on the reform is lively, with trade union representatives proposing a "constructive-critical" accompaniment of the reform. In recent years there has been a significant increase in personnel from the police, as SPD interior politician Martin Matz emphasizes. Nevertheless, high retirement and a lack of applicants represent major challenges for the reform, as well as rbb24 reported.

The last comprehensive structural reform of the Berlin police took place five years ago and led to the introduction of a new state police department, which the police divided into five local directors. Now domestic politicians from the CDU and SPD hope that the current reforms bring as much "blue" on the streets as possible, while at the same time the urgently needed legal framework has to be created for more efficient police work.