Law enforcement in Germany
Encyclopedia
Law enforcement in Germany is constitutionally vested solely with the states, which is one of the main features of the German political system. Therefore, unlike France, Italy, the United States, Canada or many other countries, Germany has no federal police force comparable to the Italian Carabinieri
, French Police Nationale, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
or Royal Canadian Mounted Police
. Police has always been a responsibility of the German states even after 1871 when the country was unified. The constitution of the Weimar Republic
1919 did provide for the possibility of creating a national police force, should the necessity arise, but it was only in the Nazi era, that state police forces were unified under central control and a national police force created. The police became a tool of the centralized state and the Nazi party.
Following the defeat of 1945, Germany was divided; in 1949 the three western zones were turned into the Federal Republic of Germany
(West Germany), the eastern zone became the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany). Each country pursued a different path concerning law enforcement.
In light of the gross misuse of power by the centralized Nazi state, the new constitution of West Germany provided for a strict separation of powers, placing law enforcement firmly in the hands of the states. The only policing allowed on the federal level was border control (Bundesgrenzschutz
including coast guard
) controlled by the Ministry of Interior
and originally organized along paramilitary lines, the Federal Criminal Police Office
and the Police of the parliament
.
East Germany created a centralized police force under the Ministry of Interior, the paramilitary Volkspolizei
. It also established a border police
, initially an independent force, then integrated into the army and then reorganized as an independent military organization.
By far the largest of the three federal police forces in West Germany was the border police, established in 1951 amidst growing east-west tensions. Germany was not yet allowed to re-arm, so the (BGS; Federal Border Guard) was initially created as a kind of Republican Guard
, staffed with 10,000 men. Its main purpose was the control of the borders including the border between East and West Germany and between the emerging cold war
blocs.
The rise of international crime
and terrorism
has repeatedly lead to discussions about the necessity of a federal police force, yet the states have a watchful eye on such aspirations by federal governments. Through the years they did provide the BGS with additional powers and responsibilities that were more of a national nature, e.g. guarding airports, federal institutions and foreign embassies, supplying several highly trained detachments for special crisis situations, supplying a federal reserve force (alert police) etc. The most renowned special unit is GSG 9
that was created to combat hostages incidents, assassinations and organized crime. In spite of the expansion of its powers, criminal investigations can still only be conducted within its jurisdiction. With the privatization of the federal German Railway the Bahnpolizei
(railway police) was integrated into the BGS in 1992.
In 2005, the BGS was renamed (BPOL; Federal Police) with a combined staff of around 40,000. BPOL participates in United Nations
peacekeeping
missions and supports intelligence-gathering activities. BPOL cooperates with several other federal agencies associated with maritime administration to form the German Federal Coast Guard
, known as the Küstenwache.
(Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), also under the Ministry of Interior. Its main objective is to coordinate law enforcement in close cooperation with the state investigation bureaux “(Landeskriminalamt
, LKA)” and to conduct investigations in certain areas of serious crimes involving other countries. The BKA is also responsible for the protection of the members of the federal constitutional institutions such as the upper and lower house, the federal president and government and the Federal Constitutional Court
and it represents Germany at Interpol
.
BKA-Headquarters are in Wiesbaden
and branches in Meckenheim (near Bonn
) and in Berlin
. Its full and part time staff presently numbers 5,200.
in Berlin
(State Police). Each state promulgates a law which lays down the organisation and duties of its police (Landespolizeigesetz or Sicherheits- und Ordnungsgesetz). The idea of creating one single police code for the whole of Germany (allgemeines Polizeigesetz) came up in the 1960s but was never passed.
Although uniforms and vehicle colour schemes are similar all over Germany, the police forces are structured slightly differently in each state. For example, the Kriminalpolizei
(detective branch, often shortened to Kripo) are part of the ordinary police force in some states and separate organizations in others.
The idea of using the same colour for police uniforms and vehicles throughout the European Union
has resulted in German police forces slowly changing vehicle liveries from white/green to silver/blue. The uniforms have also changed in most states from the green/beige version introduced in 1979 to blue. Hamburg
was the first state to make the transition. In most states, newly acquired vehicles and helicopters get the new colour scheme, except for Bavaria and Saarland, which for the time being will stick to the old green/white-or-silver scheme for their vehicles and uniforms.
Bavaria
has instituted a system of citizen patrols (Sicherheitswacht) where unarmed teams of two volunteers patrol assigned areas to improve subjective security. These teams carry a radio to call for help if necessary and a white armband with black letters identifying them as a neighbourhood watch patrol.
Citizens in Baden-Württemberg
can participate in the Volunteer Police programme, where approx. 1,200 citizens voluntarily assist their local police in 20 towns. These volunteers are specially trained, wear uniforms and are armed. Their main duty is crime prevention: conducting walking patrols to deter street crime, patrolling near schools and kindergartens and maintaining contact with potential victims of crime and juvenile delinquents.
Citizens in Hessen also participate in a Volunteer Police program, where some citizens voluntarily assist their local police. The volunteers are trained for 50 hours, receive a blue uniform, pepper spray and a mobile phone. Their main duty is crime prevention: conducting walking patrols to deter street crime, patrolling near schools and kindergartens and maintaining contact with potential victims of crime and juvenile delinquents. People can also join the Wachpolizei which has less competencies (and less pay) than regular police to perform basic police tasks such as traffic or guard duties, releasing regular officers for patrol work.
based on Roman law
with some references to Germanic law. The Bundesverfassungsgericht
(Federal Constitutional Court) is the German Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review
. Germany's supreme court system, called Oberste Gerichtshöfe des Bundes, is specialised: for civil and criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the inquisitorial
Federal Court of Justice
, and for other affairs the courts are the Federal Labour Court
, the Federal Social Court, the Federal Finance Court
and the Federal Administrative Court
. The Völkerstrafgesetzbuch
regulates the consequences of crimes against humanity, genocide
and war crimes, and gives German courts universal jurisdiction
in some circumstances. Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the Strafgesetzbuch
and the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
respectively. The German penal system is aimed towards rehabilitation of the criminal and the protection of the general public. Except for petty crimes, which are tried before a single professional judge, and serious political crime
s, all charges are tried before mixed tribunals on which lay judge
s () sit side by side with professional judges.
, Volkswagen
, Audi
, Opel
and BMW
are commonly used as patrol cars (Streifenwagen). States used to prefer vehicles built in or close to the respective state. However, with most states now leasing instead of buying their vehicles and in light of European Union rules on contract bidding, states have less latitude in choosing which manufacturer will provide their patrol cars than they did.
In the Saarland
which is adjacent to and historically closely tied to France, vehicles from French companies as well as European Ford
are used as police cars. The Bavarian State Police
uses mainly BMW and Audi vehicles, as both companies are based in Bavaria (BMW in Munich
and Audi in Ingolstadt
). In the eastern states of Germany, mostly Volkswagens are in use (Volkswagen is based in Wolfsburg
, close to the eastern states). The Hessian
police prefer Opel cars (General Motors
-brand Opel
is based in Rüsselsheim
near Frankfurt am Main in Hessen). Baden-Württemberg
mostly uses Mercedes-Benz
and Volkswagen
brand cars for their police force.
Before the police reform in the mid-1970s, Germany had many city police forces and each had its own police car livery. Dark blue, dark green and white were popular colours. However, the dark colours were perceived as a disadvantage as many accidents occurred at night during high speed chases.
Therefore the conference of interior ministers decided on standardising police car liveries so that the cars appeared non-threatening and could be easily visible at night. And so bright green and white were the colours associated with police vehicles in Germany since the 1970s. More recently, police forces changed to silver cars and vans instead of white ones as they were easier to sell than the white ones when their police service was over. Now, most states have light blue instead of green stripes, but cars painted in the old livery can still be seen (as of April 2008). Only the states of Bavaria and Saarland have opted to retain the green-on-white/silver livery; all other states are transitioning to blue-on-white/silver.
These days, German police forces generally lease patrol cars from a manufacturer, usually for a period of three years. The leasing company marks the patrol cars using plastic foils with reflecting strips as borders instead of painting them. The foils are removed when the cars are sold to the public as standard silver used cars when the lease runs out.
Unlike in other countries like the United States
, police cars in Germany rarely come with any special equipment (apart from the obvious, like flashing lights or sirens) not available to other users of the same model, as the cars on sale in European markets are generally considered to be fit for police duty without any further alteration.
and the Saarland
are not intending to alter the 1976 design, whereas the other states have already begun or completed the shift from green to blue.
In line with the uniforms, police vehicles and various items of equipment are also changing colour from green to blue.
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
, French Police Nationale, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
or Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
. Police has always been a responsibility of the German states even after 1871 when the country was unified. The constitution of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
1919 did provide for the possibility of creating a national police force, should the necessity arise, but it was only in the Nazi era, that state police forces were unified under central control and a national police force created. The police became a tool of the centralized state and the Nazi party.
Following the defeat of 1945, Germany was divided; in 1949 the three western zones were turned into the Federal Republic of Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(West Germany), the eastern zone became the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany). Each country pursued a different path concerning law enforcement.
In light of the gross misuse of power by the centralized Nazi state, the new constitution of West Germany provided for a strict separation of powers, placing law enforcement firmly in the hands of the states. The only policing allowed on the federal level was border control (Bundesgrenzschutz
Bundesgrenzschutz
Bundesgrenzschutz was the first federal police organization in Western Germany after World War II permitted by the Allied occupation authorities. In July 2005, the BGS was renamed Bundespolizei to reflect its transition to a multi-faceted police agency.It was established in 1951...
including coast guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
) controlled by the Ministry of Interior
Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of the Interior is a ministry of the German federal government. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister of the interior is Dr...
and originally organized along paramilitary lines, the Federal Criminal Police Office
Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany is a national investigative police agency in Germany and falls directly under the Federal Ministry of the Interior...
and the Police of the parliament
Polizei beim Deutschen Bundestag
The Polizei beim Deutschen Bundestag is a German Federal police organization protecting the premises of the Bundestag in Berlin....
.
East Germany created a centralized police force under the Ministry of Interior, the paramilitary Volkspolizei
Volkspolizei
The Volkspolizei , or VP, were the national police of the German Democratic Republic . The Volkspolizei were responsible for most law enforcement in East Germany, but its organisation and structure were such that it could be considered a paramilitary force as well...
. It also established a border police
Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic
The Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic, in German Grenztruppen der DDR, were a military force of the GDR and the primary force guarding the Berlin Wall and the border between East and West Germany. The Border Troops numbered at their peak approximately 47,000 troops...
, initially an independent force, then integrated into the army and then reorganized as an independent military organization.
Federal Police
Republican Guard
Republican Guard is the organization of a republic which serves to protect the President and the government. Usually synonymous with Presidential Guard.* Albanian Republican Guard* Algerian Republican Guard...
, staffed with 10,000 men. Its main purpose was the control of the borders including the border between East and West Germany and between the emerging cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
blocs.
The rise of international crime
International crime
International crime may refer to:*Crime against international law*Crime against humanity*Crime against peace*War crime*International criminal lawor it may refer to transnational crimes...
and terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
has repeatedly lead to discussions about the necessity of a federal police force, yet the states have a watchful eye on such aspirations by federal governments. Through the years they did provide the BGS with additional powers and responsibilities that were more of a national nature, e.g. guarding airports, federal institutions and foreign embassies, supplying several highly trained detachments for special crisis situations, supplying a federal reserve force (alert police) etc. The most renowned special unit is GSG 9
GSG 9
The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei , is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police.-History and name:...
that was created to combat hostages incidents, assassinations and organized crime. In spite of the expansion of its powers, criminal investigations can still only be conducted within its jurisdiction. With the privatization of the federal German Railway the Bahnpolizei
Bahnpolizei
Bahnpolizei is the term in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland for the Railway police.-Germany:Bahnpolizei was the name of the former Railway police of West Germany and fell under the jurisdiction of the Deutsche Bundesbahn federal railway company...
(railway police) was integrated into the BGS in 1992.
In 2005, the BGS was renamed (BPOL; Federal Police) with a combined staff of around 40,000. BPOL participates in United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
missions and supports intelligence-gathering activities. BPOL cooperates with several other federal agencies associated with maritime administration to form the German Federal Coast Guard
German Federal Coast Guard
The German Federal Coast Guard is a civilian law enforcement organisation whose primary missions are border protection, maritime environmental protection, shipping safety, fishery protection and customs enforcement...
, known as the Küstenwache.
Federal Criminal Police Office
The second federal agency of equal importance is the Federal Criminal Police OfficeFederal Criminal Police Office (Germany)
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany is a national investigative police agency in Germany and falls directly under the Federal Ministry of the Interior...
(Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), also under the Ministry of Interior. Its main objective is to coordinate law enforcement in close cooperation with the state investigation bureaux “(Landeskriminalamt
Landeskriminalamt
Landeskriminalamt - is the German term for a State Investigation Bureau in Germany. LKAs are part of the state police which, in turn, is directly subordinate to the respective state ministry of the interior.-Investigations:...
, LKA)” and to conduct investigations in certain areas of serious crimes involving other countries. The BKA is also responsible for the protection of the members of the federal constitutional institutions such as the upper and lower house, the federal president and government and the Federal Constitutional Court
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...
and it represents Germany at Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
.
BKA-Headquarters are in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
and branches in Meckenheim (near Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
) and in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Its full and part time staff presently numbers 5,200.
Police of the parliament
The Polizei beim Deutschen Bundestag (Polizei DBT, commonly known as Bundestagspolizei) is the smallest and least known of the federal police forces. It is responsible for the protection of the premises of the BundestagBundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
State agencies
The German states are responsible for managing the bulk of Germany's police forces. Each state has its own police force known as the LandespolizeiLandespolizei
thumb|[[Germany|German]] police officer in [[Hamburg]]The Landespolizei are the main police forces of Germany. They are under the sole jurisdiction, funded and operated by the states of Germany.-History:...
(State Police). Each state promulgates a law which lays down the organisation and duties of its police (Landespolizeigesetz or Sicherheits- und Ordnungsgesetz). The idea of creating one single police code for the whole of Germany (allgemeines Polizeigesetz) came up in the 1960s but was never passed.
Although uniforms and vehicle colour schemes are similar all over Germany, the police forces are structured slightly differently in each state. For example, the Kriminalpolizei
Kriminalpolizei
is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany during 1936, the Kripo became the Criminal Police Department for the entire Reich...
(detective branch, often shortened to Kripo) are part of the ordinary police force in some states and separate organizations in others.
The idea of using the same colour for police uniforms and vehicles throughout the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
has resulted in German police forces slowly changing vehicle liveries from white/green to silver/blue. The uniforms have also changed in most states from the green/beige version introduced in 1979 to blue. Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
was the first state to make the transition. In most states, newly acquired vehicles and helicopters get the new colour scheme, except for Bavaria and Saarland, which for the time being will stick to the old green/white-or-silver scheme for their vehicles and uniforms.
Neighbourhood watch
Many German states have neighbourhood watch programmes.Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
has instituted a system of citizen patrols (Sicherheitswacht) where unarmed teams of two volunteers patrol assigned areas to improve subjective security. These teams carry a radio to call for help if necessary and a white armband with black letters identifying them as a neighbourhood watch patrol.
Citizens in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
can participate in the Volunteer Police programme, where approx. 1,200 citizens voluntarily assist their local police in 20 towns. These volunteers are specially trained, wear uniforms and are armed. Their main duty is crime prevention: conducting walking patrols to deter street crime, patrolling near schools and kindergartens and maintaining contact with potential victims of crime and juvenile delinquents.
Citizens in Hessen also participate in a Volunteer Police program, where some citizens voluntarily assist their local police. The volunteers are trained for 50 hours, receive a blue uniform, pepper spray and a mobile phone. Their main duty is crime prevention: conducting walking patrols to deter street crime, patrolling near schools and kindergartens and maintaining contact with potential victims of crime and juvenile delinquents. People can also join the Wachpolizei which has less competencies (and less pay) than regular police to perform basic police tasks such as traffic or guard duties, releasing regular officers for patrol work.
Judiciary
Germany has a civil law systemCivil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
based on Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
with some references to Germanic law. The Bundesverfassungsgericht
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...
(Federal Constitutional Court) is the German Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review
Judicial review
Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...
. Germany's supreme court system, called Oberste Gerichtshöfe des Bundes, is specialised: for civil and criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the inquisitorial
Inquisitorial system
An inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is primarily that of an impartial referee between the prosecution and the defense...
Federal Court of Justice
Federal Court of Justice of Germany
The Federal Court of Justice of Germany in Karlsruhe is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction in Germany. It is the supreme court in all matters of criminal and private law...
, and for other affairs the courts are the Federal Labour Court
Federal Labor Court of Germany
The Federal Labor Court is the court of the last resort for cases of labour law in Germany, both for individual labour law and collective labour law...
, the Federal Social Court, the Federal Finance Court
Federal Finance Court of Germany
The Federal Finance Court is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the federal court of appeals for cases of tax and customs law, hearing appeals from the Finanzgerichte ....
and the Federal Administrative Court
Federal Administrative Court of Germany
The Federal Administrative Court is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the court of the last resort for generally all cases of administrative law, mainly disputes between citizens and the state...
. The Völkerstrafgesetzbuch
Völkerstrafgesetzbuch
The Völkerstrafgesetzbuch or VStGB is the German law that regulates the crimes against public international law. It was created to bring the German criminal law into accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It was announced on 26 June 2002 and became law 30 June 2002...
regulates the consequences of crimes against humanity, genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
and war crimes, and gives German courts universal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction or universality principle is a principle in public international law whereby states claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of the prosecuting state, regardless of nationality, country of residence, or any other...
in some circumstances. Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the Strafgesetzbuch
Strafgesetzbuch
Strafgesetzbuch is the German name for Penal Code and is abbreviated to StGB.- History :In Germany the Strafgesetzbuch goes back to the Penal Code of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 which was largely identical to the Penal Code of the North German Confederation.This Reichsstrafgesetzbuch ...
and the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch is the civil code of Germany. In development since 1881, it became effective on January 1, 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project....
respectively. The German penal system is aimed towards rehabilitation of the criminal and the protection of the general public. Except for petty crimes, which are tried before a single professional judge, and serious political crime
Political crime
In criminology, a political crime is an offence involving overt acts or omissions , which prejudice the interests of the state, its government or the political system...
s, all charges are tried before mixed tribunals on which lay judge
Lay judge
A lay judge is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions, such as Germany, Sweden and Finland. Japan began implementing a new lay judge system in 2009....
s () sit side by side with professional judges.
Transportation
German police typically use cars from German manufacturers. Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
, Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
and BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
are commonly used as patrol cars (Streifenwagen). States used to prefer vehicles built in or close to the respective state. However, with most states now leasing instead of buying their vehicles and in light of European Union rules on contract bidding, states have less latitude in choosing which manufacturer will provide their patrol cars than they did.
In the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
which is adjacent to and historically closely tied to France, vehicles from French companies as well as European Ford
Ford Europe
-History:Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 on the merger of the British and German divisions of the Ford Motor Company. The original Ford Transit range of panel vans launched in 1965, was the first formal co-operation between the two entities, simultaneously developed to replace the German Ford...
are used as police cars. The Bavarian State Police
Bavarian State Police
The Bavarian State Police has approximately 32,000 officers and roughly 5,600 civilian employees and is therefore one of the biggest police forces in Germany.-Organisation:The 10 regional police authorities in Bavaria are:...
uses mainly BMW and Audi vehicles, as both companies are based in Bavaria (BMW in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Audi in Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
). In the eastern states of Germany, mostly Volkswagens are in use (Volkswagen is based in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
, close to the eastern states). The Hessian
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
police prefer Opel cars (General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
-brand Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
is based in Rüsselsheim
Rüsselsheim
Rüsselsheim is the largest town in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status towns in Hesse and is located on the Main, only a few kilometres from its mouth in Mainz. The suburbs of Bauschheim and Königstädten are included in Rüsselsheim...
near Frankfurt am Main in Hessen). Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
mostly uses Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
and Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
brand cars for their police force.
Before the police reform in the mid-1970s, Germany had many city police forces and each had its own police car livery. Dark blue, dark green and white were popular colours. However, the dark colours were perceived as a disadvantage as many accidents occurred at night during high speed chases.
Therefore the conference of interior ministers decided on standardising police car liveries so that the cars appeared non-threatening and could be easily visible at night. And so bright green and white were the colours associated with police vehicles in Germany since the 1970s. More recently, police forces changed to silver cars and vans instead of white ones as they were easier to sell than the white ones when their police service was over. Now, most states have light blue instead of green stripes, but cars painted in the old livery can still be seen (as of April 2008). Only the states of Bavaria and Saarland have opted to retain the green-on-white/silver livery; all other states are transitioning to blue-on-white/silver.
These days, German police forces generally lease patrol cars from a manufacturer, usually for a period of three years. The leasing company marks the patrol cars using plastic foils with reflecting strips as borders instead of painting them. The foils are removed when the cars are sold to the public as standard silver used cars when the lease runs out.
Unlike in other countries like the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, police cars in Germany rarely come with any special equipment (apart from the obvious, like flashing lights or sirens) not available to other users of the same model, as the cars on sale in European markets are generally considered to be fit for police duty without any further alteration.
List of Vehicles
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Chevrolet Astro The Chevrolet Astro was a rear-wheel drive mid-sized van introduced by Chevrolet in 1985 to rival domestic competitors the Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager twins and the Japanese Toyota Van. Also sharing the Astro's platform was its sibling, the GMC Safari... Fiat Ducato The Fiat Ducato is a large van produced by Fiat. The Fiat Ducato is the same van as the Citroën Jumper and the Peugeot Boxer, which are all very popular vans to convert into motorhomes... Fiat Punto The Fiat Punto is a supermini produced by the Italian manufacturer, Fiat, since 1993.-1st generation :Internally codenamed Project 176, the Punto was announced in September 1993 and launched in late 1993 as a replacement for the ageing Fiat Uno. The Fiat Punto was voted European Car of the Year... Ford Mondeo The Mondeo was launched on 8 January 1993, and sales began on 22 March 1993. Available as a four-door saloon, a five-door hatchback, and a five-door estate, all models for the European market were produced at Ford's plant in the Belgian city of Genk... Ford Scorpio The Ford Scorpio is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1985 through to 1998.It was the replacement for the European Ford Granada line... Ford Scorpio The Ford Scorpio is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1985 through to 1998.It was the replacement for the European Ford Granada line... Turnier Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a range of panel vans, minibuses, and pickup trucks, produced by the Ford Motor Company in Europe.The Transit has been the best-selling light commercial vehicle in Europe for 40 years, and in some countries the term "Transit" has passed into common usage as a generic term... Iveco Iveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin... trucks Lada Lada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market... (several models used after re-unification in 1990, which came from the GDR-Volkspolizei) Land Rover Discovery The Discovery was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1989. The company code-named the vehicle "Project Jay". The new model was based on the chassis and drivetrain of the more upmarket Range Rover, but with a lower price aimed at a larger market segment and intended to compete with Japanese... Man The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole... trucks and prison busses |
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG... many trucks and vans Mercedes-Benz C-Class The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a compact executive car produced by the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler AG. First introduced in 1993 as a replacement for the 190 range , the C-Class was the smallest model in the marque's lineup until the 1997 arrival of the A-Class... Mercedes-Benz E-Class The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive-size cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. The E initially stood for Einspritzmotor, ; a new feature in volume production vehicles at the time that the E-Class first appeared, with the E as a suffix to the... Mercedes-Benz G-Class The original 460-series Geländewagen went on sale for civilian buyers in 1979, after having debuted in February of that year. It was offered with two wheelbases, a short wheelbase of 2,400 mm and a long one of 2,850 mm. One could choose between three body styles: A two-door short... Mercedes-Benz S-Class The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a series of luxury sedans produced by Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG. The classification was officially introduced in 1972 with the W116 S-Class, which succeeded previous Mercedes-Benz models dating to the mid-1950s... Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light and heavy commercial vehicle, built by Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a van, chassis cab and minibus, and sold as a Mercedes model, except in the U.S. where it is built from complete knock down kits and was sold by Freightliner until 2010 when Mercedes... Mercedes-Benz Vito The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a light van produced by Mercedes-Benz in the Basque town of Vitoria, Spain. From the name of the city Vitoria came the name Vito. The name was also derived from an exemplary, long-standing employee, Vito Rosenstein... Mercedes-Benz W123 W123 is the internal chassis-designation Mercedes-Benz used for their executive line of cars, manufactured between 1976 and 1985.The W123 models surpassed their predecessor, the W114 and W115 models, as the most successful Mercedes, selling 2.7 million cars before replacement by the W124 after 1985... Neoplan NEOPLAN Bus GmbH is a German automotive company that manufactures buses, trolleybuses and coaches. NEOPLAN is now a subsidiary of NEOMAN Bus GmbH, which itself is a part of MAN SE.-Foundations:... prison busses Opel Astra The Opel Astra is a small family car engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel since 1991.It is branded as Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom, the Buick Excelle XT in China and the Chevrolet Astra/Vectra in Latin America... Opel Astra The Opel Astra is a small family car engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel since 1991.It is branded as Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom, the Buick Excelle XT in China and the Chevrolet Astra/Vectra in Latin America... Caravan Opel Corsa The front-wheel drive Opel Corsa was first launched in September 1982 to replace the Opel Kadett C City, and to fill the gap vacated as the Kadett grew in size and price. Built in Zaragoza, Spain, the first Corsas were three-door hatchback and two-door saloon models, with four-door and five-door... Opel Omega The Opel Omega was an executive car marketed by the German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2003 in two generations, both manufactured at Opel's Rüsselsheim, Germany plant. The first generation, the Omega A , superseded the Opel Rekord, was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and was available... Opel Omega The Opel Omega was an executive car marketed by the German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2003 in two generations, both manufactured at Opel's Rüsselsheim, Germany plant. The first generation, the Omega A , superseded the Opel Rekord, was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and was available... Caravan Opel Vectra The Opel Vectra is a large family car that was engineered and produced by Opel. In the United Kingdom, the car was sold under the Vauxhall marque as the Vauxhall Cavalier and later as the Vauxhall Vectra, from 1995 onwards... Opel Vectra The Opel Vectra is a large family car that was engineered and produced by Opel. In the United Kingdom, the car was sold under the Vauxhall marque as the Vauxhall Cavalier and later as the Vauxhall Vectra, from 1995 onwards... Caravan Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998... Porsche 944 The Porsche 944 is a sports car built by Porsche from 1982 to 1991. It was built on the same platform as the 924, although 924 production continued through 1988. The 944 was intended to last into the 1990s, but major revisions planned for a 944 S3 model were eventually rolled into the 968 instead,... |
Renault Trafic The current Trafic resulted from a joint venture between German Opel, Japanese Nissan and French Renault. It is also sold as an Opel Vivaro, Vauxhall Vivaro and by Nissan as the Primastar.... Toyota Land Cruiser The is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation. It is not related to the Studebaker Land Cruiser car produced in the US from 1934-1954.... Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003... Volkswagen Caddy Released in 1980, the first Volkswagen Caddy is a coupe utility, and van based on the Volkswagen Group A1 platform, shared with the small family car Volkswagen Golf Mk1.Volkswagen Typ is:*147 = LHD*148 = RHD-Caddy debuts internationally as a Rabbit:... Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The... Volkswagen Jetta Although the Golf had reached considerable success, in the North American markets, Volkswagen observed that the hatchback body style lacked some of the appeal to those who preferred the traditional three-box configuration... Volkswagen LT The Volkswagen LT was the largest light commercial vehicle panel van produced by Volkswagen from 1975 to 2006... Volkswagen Lupo The Lupo is a city car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen from 1998 to 2005.-Model history:The Lupo was introduced in 1998 to fill a gap at the bottom of the VW model range caused by the increasing size and weight of the VW Polo. Rivals included the Ford Ka, the Opel/Vauxhall Agila and... Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a large family car marketed by Volkswagen Passenger Cars through six design generations since 1973. Between the Volkswagen Golf / Volkswagen Jetta and the Volkswagen Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up, the Passat and its derivatives have been badged variously as... Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a large family car marketed by Volkswagen Passenger Cars through six design generations since 1973. Between the Volkswagen Golf / Volkswagen Jetta and the Volkswagen Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up, the Passat and its derivatives have been badged variously as... Variant Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants.... Volkswagen Sharan The Volkswagen Sharan is a large MPV produced by the German automaker Volkswagen since 1995.-First generation :The name Sharan is derived from a Persian word meaning "Carrier of Kings".... Volkswagen Transporter (T5) The Volkswagen Transporter T5 range is the fifth generation of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles medium-sized light commercial vehicle and people mover Caravelle/Multivan range... Volkswagen Touran The Volkswagen Touran is a compact MPV based on a vertically-stretched fifth generation Volkswagen Golf Mk5, and sold in Europe and other select markets. It was launched in 2003 to fill a gap in Volkswagen's model lineup, below the Sharan large MPV... |
Uniforms
Germany introduced green and khaki uniforms designed by Heinz Oestergaard in 1976. However, because most European countries have blue or black police uniforms, most German states as well as the federal police are introducing newly designed blue uniforms to conform with the common image of the police in Europe. At present (August 2009) only the police forces in BavariaBavarian State Police
The Bavarian State Police has approximately 32,000 officers and roughly 5,600 civilian employees and is therefore one of the biggest police forces in Germany.-Organisation:The 10 regional police authorities in Bavaria are:...
and the Saarland
Saarland Police
The Saarland Police is one of the smallest German Landespolizei forces with approx. 2,700 police officers. As in Hesse and Rheinland-Pfalz, the Saarland Police is abolishing the “green star” ranks meaning their new police officers start to work the road as Kommissars...
are not intending to alter the 1976 design, whereas the other states have already begun or completed the shift from green to blue.
In line with the uniforms, police vehicles and various items of equipment are also changing colour from green to blue.
See also
- List of law enforcement agencies in Germany
- ZollkriminalamtZollkriminalamtThe German Customs Investigation Bureau in Cologne and its investigation offices are federal agencies that fall under the German Finance Ministry...
(German Customs Investigation Bureau) - StaatsanwaltschaftStaatsanwaltschaftThe Staatsanwaltschaft or public prosecutor's offices are criminal justice bodies attached to the judiciary but separate from the courts in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland...
(public prosecutor’s office) - Crime in GermanyCrime in GermanyCrime in Germany is combated by the German Police and other agencies.-General crime levels:In Germany's 2010 crime statistics, 5.93 million criminal acts were committed, down 2 percent from 2009...
- Prisons in GermanyPrisons in GermanyThe prisons in Germany are run solely by the federal states, although governed by a federal law. The aim of prison confinement in Germany is twofold: emphasis is placed on enabling prisoners to lead a life of "social responsibility free of crime" upon release, but society is also to be protected...