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An ARD magazine Monitor The current racist talk in Berlin reveals the correct sentiments of some policemen. The case also shows why internal critics of the police often fail to defend themselves from such statements.
By Aiko Kempen, Julia Regis and Mathea Schülke, WDR
Muslims are compared to monkeys and called “fanatical primate culture”, refugees are equated with rapists or rats. About the anti-Semitic murderer von Halle, however, it is said: “It has nothing to do with ‘law’.” They are excerpts from the internal chat of a service group of the Berlin Police. The chat records that Monitor Available exclusively, it gives an insight into more than three years of everyday life in a Berlin police station.
More than 25 policemen texted each other in the chat. Between everyday things like ordering muffins for breakfast together and dates for sports, there is often racist content, hatred of people who think differently, and outright fantasies of violence. Seven officials in particular repeatedly express themselves in a racist manner in chats, often in the form of alleged jokes. They often get approval from their colleagues.
There is a joke about an “attitude test” for police admission: “Shoot six illegal immigrants” is one of the imaginary requests in the exam. There are also images of the well-known far-right ideology of the “big trade”, according to which the white population of Europe is being replaced by immigrants. “Merkel’s guests” come “like grasshoppers to Europe,” enthused a policeman.
The superior was informed via chat
The chat was Monitor leaked by Berlin police officers. As they fear official consequences, they want to remain anonymous. In the interview he complains of widespread racism among his colleagues. One of the policemen was in the chat group for several years.
A superior was also informed about the racist content, he says. But he did not intervene. The officers were only asked in an email to be careful not to send any content relevant to criminal law. The police officer said that the superior did not want to know what was shared in the group.
Berlin Interior Senator Andreas Geisel was from Monitor informed about the chat and some of the content. He turned down an interview where he could also get a full picture of the extent of racist expressions on chat. In writing, he simply stated: “If the allegations turn out to be true, this is absolutely unacceptable and has nothing to do with a modern, cosmopolitan capitalist police force.” Such behavior damages “the excellent work of thousands of Berlin police employees.”
Do the police have any structural problems?
Politicians and police representatives regularly refer to the good work of most police officers after racist incidents in the police. However, this reaction misses the core of the problem, says author and racism expert Alice Hasters. You see a structural problem that needs to be addressed.
“The content of this group gives pretty clear indications that racist people can feel safe within the police structure,” says Hasters. That has to fundamentally change. That is why it is not enough to remove the black sheep and think that this will solve the problem.
The president of the Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter (BDK), Sebastian Fiedler, saw excerpts from the chat. According to Fiedler, the content is “in diametric opposition” to the values of the Basic Law, on which the officials swore. He also fears the effects of racist attitudes on actual police work.
Police officers report “racial profiling”
Research Monitor down. In an interview, Berlin police officers report that colleagues deliberately check people of color for no reason. This “racial discrimination” independent of suspicions is expressly prohibited to officers. And in the chat, some police officers write that if the police want to earn the respect of migrants, in Germany “every day someone has to go to the afterlife.” Looking to the left in the demonstrations, they repeatedly call for the use of firearms and suggest that “the right should have a party.” They could be “allies” here.
Racism in chat messages, which also carries over to police work, and a structure in which critical voices are apparently not heard. Suggested solutions have been on the table for a long time: transparency, independent complaints bureaus, a study on racist and right-wing extremist attitudes among the police.
Berlin police, with them Monitor They have spoken, they are calling for a cultural change: they want a modern police force where mistakes are dealt with openly so that they can be proud of the authority they work for. This is not currently the case.
You can see this and other posts today on Monitor at 9.45pm the first.
