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A police scandal shakes North Rhine-Westphalia. These are far-right messages in group chats, the content is disgusting to inhumane. 29 police officers have been temporarily removed from service. The case rekindles the discussion about racism in the police. However, the federal interior minister, Horst Seehofer (CSU), still does not want a comprehensive investigation on the issue. With this attitude he opposes the majority of the population.
Because almost 55 percent of Germans believe that a study on racism within the police is necessary. This is the result of a recent survey conducted by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of SPIEGEL.
Between September 18 and 21, more than 5,000 people responded to the question whether they considered it necessary for the federal government to commission a study on racism within the police force. About 39 percent of the respondents answered the question with “no, definitely not” or “rather not.”
Supporters of a study on racism predominate in almost all age groups. Supporters of this study are most strongly represented in the 65+ age group and 18-29 year olds. In the first age group, about 60 percent of respondents are in favor of a corresponding test, in the second it is more than 58 percent.
The age groups between 40 and 49 years and between 50 and 64 years are also very close. In both cases, more than 54 percent consider an investigation into racism within the police necessary. Values for 30-39 year olds are comparatively low. There, only about 45 percent answered yes to the question of whether they considered an investigation necessary.
Union supporters are divided
Regarding voting intentions, clear differences are evident between supporters of the different parties. About 80 percent of SPD supporters consider a study on racism with the police necessary. Among supporters of the Greens and the Left, it is even more than 80 percent.
By contrast, the proportion of FDP supporters is only about a third. And only a good five percent of AfD supporters believe a study on racism in the police is necessary.
The decision on the investigation would have to be made by the Union-led Federal Ministry of the Interior. However, so far Minister Seehofer has rejected such a poll. He wants a broader approach “to society as a whole,” he said recently. It does not necessarily comply with the will of the Union’s supporters. They are divided on the question of whether such a study is necessary. About 46 percent answer the question with “Yes”, about 47 percent with “No” and about 7 percent are undecided.
Differences between city and country
To answer the question, in addition to political orientation, where you live is obviously also relevant. The SPIEGEL survey shows differences between the urban and rural population.
As population density increases, so does the proportion of respondents who consider a study of racism in the police necessary. In rural regions with a very low population density, about 50 percent are in favor, in regions with a very high population density it is more than 60 percent.
The question of investigating racism in the police has been sparking disputes in the federal government for months. The SPD has already campaigned for this on several occasions, and the Social Democratic Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht asked her cabinet colleague Seehofer to reconsider.
There are also voices from the Union that are clearly in favor of a study. “It would also support a scientific investigation into possible right-wing extremist tendencies in the police,” Schleswig-Holstein Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack (CDU) told SPIEGEL recently, and thus contradicted Seehofer.
The current police scandal in North Rhine-Westphalia is likely to increase pressure on the Federal Minister of the Interior. Especially since the case is by no means the first of its kind, and its full scope has yet to be clarified.
