Wreath and Christmas – How the Police Work – Politics

He has worked out a schedule for the holidays, says Jörg Radek, so that on the one hand he can spend Christmas with his blended family and 90-year-old father-in-law, but on the other hand not violate Corona’s requirements. The deputy head of the police union talks about checks during the holidays, scandals of right-wing extremism in the police and more than a year to forget in general.

SZ: “I’ve never seen a year like this before,” you said, but it was only July. What is the balance six months later?

Jörg Radek: I have been a police officer for 42 years, I have seen the Castor transports, the 2006 World Cup, various G-7, G-8 and G-20 summits. But nothing compares to this year. In all missions there is now this invisible danger. Police officers are coughed or spat over and over again. In the past, you have simply washed yourself afterwards. Now many are afraid of being infected with Corona.

How high is the number of infections among the police?

I am not allowed to give concrete figures that allow to draw conclusions about the strength of the team. Infections develop in the same way as in the general population, so they are only increasing. It is therefore right that interior ministers want to make sure that police officers are vaccinated early next year.

Open detailed view

Do you have to worry that the police can no longer work because of the corona cases?

No, we have a strong operational capacity. This is also due to the fact that some staff intensive assignments are not being done at this time. In the Bundesliga, for example, with ghost games you need far fewer policemen than when the fans come. This frees capacities for what is now expected of us.

What is expected of you now?

We are currently increasing our presence in the public space to monitor corona requirements together with regulatory authorities. We also need to protect the vaccination centers. I don’t want to talk about danger, but the prognosis is that vaccination centers could be attacked. In addition, we are faced with a great effort on New Year’s Eve: we have to enforce the ban on gatherings.

There are also strict restrictions at Christmas. Do you have to wait for the police to be at the door on Christmas Eve and check?

We will not go from house to house without cause and count how many people are sitting at the table. That would not even work, that would be a violation of the fundamental right to the integrity of the apartment. But if we have indications that the rules are being violated somewhere, we investigate.

Without wanting to downplay the seriousness of the situation: Many people feel a strange sensation at the idea that neighbors can whistle at the police.

I can understand that, that wouldn’t be my way either. I would go to the neighbors myself first and if there are really too many people, I would ask them to follow the rules. You shouldn’t always call the police right away. This pandemic also requires a little moral courage from all of us.

An image from 2020 will be remembered that has shocked many: side thinkers waving the Reich flag on the steps of the Reichstag building and three policemen who oppose them at the last minute. What happened to all three, were they promoted?

The effort was widely recognized. A special honor for the three and other colleagues was the conversation shortly after with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace.

Did the police make mistakes at the demonstration in Berlin in August?

I cannot judge that, I do not have complete information about it. But the police have shown that they can control large-scale situations, for example at the demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate in November. The amendment to the Infection Protection Act created legal certainty for this, which was important.

Police used water cannons at the Brandenburg Gate demonstration they are targeting. There were also families with children among the protesters. Was it provided?

The policemen acted with caution, they saw that not all the participants were far-right hooligans. They showed consideration for families. But it is important that the police enforce the law against lateral thinkers. They want to destabilize the state. For me, lateral thinkers are enemies of freedom.

2020 was also the year of far-right incidents in the police, in NRW police officers allegedly exchanged images of Hitler in a chat group and the photo montage of a refugee in a gas chamber. There were also incidents in Hesse and other federal states. What are the police doing to prevent this from happening in the future?

I am delighted that the Conference of Interior Ministers approved two studies last week. One is investigating extremism in German society, the other examines the daily work of the police.

But that’s still not a clear commitment to a police study of racism. You have also spoken out against such a study. Why?

We say: if we have a problem with racism in German society, then we must also examine it for society as a whole.

But the numbers suggest there is a problem with the police. Since 2017, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has counted more than three hundred proven and suspected cases of right-wing extremism in the security authorities.

There is no question: anyone who speaks out in an anti-Semitic way or in any other form of extremism should be removed from the police. But the job-specific investigations that I know of don’t offer any solutions, they get stuck in an attitude of reproach. I am sure that the studies that have just been decided can help us understand the causes of extremism. The police are already doing a lot here, by the way, there are numerous training programs. I don’t see a structural problem with racism in the police, the absolute majority are just people. But there are too many individual cases. That must end.

What do you wish for next year?

I wish there is not another year like 2020. But a much better one.