Mounted police

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Most of the riding police in Germany today are women ( Herne , 2017).

The mounted police are part of the police force that uses horses as operational resources .

General

Tasks and possible uses

Use of mounted patrols in downtown pedestrian zones and the narrow streets of the old towns (here French police officers in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, 2011)

The mounted police can be used in many ways:

  • Protection of major events such as football games, open-air concerts, parades, gatherings and demonstrations,
  • Searches, cordoning off and search measures in the area,
  • Support in evacuating large crowds,
  • Patrol duty of all kinds, both patrol riding in the city and patrol rides in parks, in the field or in nature reserves,
  • Monitoring of parking lots to prevent vehicle break-ins,
  • Support of unmounted departments in their tasks.

Strengthen

The main strengths of the mounted police are:

  • in the rider's elevated view: this makes it easy to monitor a relatively large area.
  • in their off-road mobility: Even in dense forest or undergrowth or in cut terrain where off-road vehicles can no longer drive, the use of horses is usually possible without any problems. For example, it is difficult to monitor the forest areas during Castor transports or natural areas with an increased incidence of criminal offenses without a rider.
  • in their environmental compatibility: horses can be used in near-natural landscapes and nature reserves without affecting nature .
  • In the psychological factor: The use of animals can have a calming effect on people and sometimes increases the inhibition threshold for the use of force. For example, attempts are being made to de- escalate at festivals and large crowds through the presence of mounted police .
  • in their impressive size: the formidable appearance of riders can make people back off. During demonstrations and sit-ins , horses can provide help with clearing spaces. When in close contact with people, special care is required by the rider in order to keep the risk of injuring demonstrators as low as possible. The police officers are relatively well protected due to the elevated seating position .

Remont

When selecting remonts for the riders' squadrons, special emphasis is placed on certain characteristics of the animal. In addition to health, this particularly includes a strong stature. The horse should also be easy to ride by different people. The procurement also depends on the given financial framework of the purchasing authority.

education

Traditionally, high school training was part of the sporting activities of the police riders (here a rider of the Bavarian state police, 1932).

The police officers of the equestrian squadrons receive additional equestrian training.

Police horses are subjected to extensive serenity training. In the process of getting used to them, they learn to react calmly to supposed dangers , such as a fluttering flag. With the appropriate practice, the flight instinct can be controlled. Each horse must be dealt with individually.

Some horses are particularly afraid of unfamiliar ground, such as puddles, hoses lying on the ground (reminiscent of snakes ), reverberant bridges or shaky ground (can be trained on a seesaw). Such horses are called ground-shy. Other horses shy away from visual stimuli, for example opening umbrellas, which remind them of large predators that suddenly jump out of the bushes. There are also horses that are particularly sensitive to noises, smells, touch or distress. The horse also gets to know unusual behavior of people such as suddenly running off, screaming, jumping, waving arms or falling over during the familiarization work. You learn to calmly accept acoustic stimuli such as music, noise or crackling paper bags. It is crucial that the horse trusts its rider.

The pelted be can be, for example, work with lightweight foam rubber balls. The horse may first sniff the ball, the rider touches the horse with the ball and carefully lets the ball fall onto the horse. Then the ball is thrown to the rider from the ground. When the horse has got used to it and can tolerate the touch without twitching, several horses can be played with and throw at each other. Then you switch to bigger and heavier balls. The horse should always emerge as the winner of this game in order to strengthen the learning effect positively. The principle “from easy to difficult” is in the foreground in the gradual introduction. At the end of the training , the police horses can deal with police sirens , flashing lights , fireworks , shots , fire and smoke and the tumult after a football game .

Parallel to the serenity training, an experienced service horse is patrolled to get the animal used to traffic. This takes place on a playful level in order to gain the horse's trust and strengthen its character.

The training period is usually twelve months (as is the case with the Hanover and Braunschweig squadrons ). During this time, the service horses are trained according to the rules of the German Equestrian Association ("Guidelines for Riding and Driving" - Volumes 1, 2, 4 and 6). The aim of the training is the training level of class A.

Germany

organization

Mounted policewomen from Saxony (2011)
Horse transporter of the Reiterstaffel Hamburg (2015)

In Germany, not all federal states maintain equestrian teams for cost reasons. These are currently available from the following state police forces:

The Federal Police maintains an equestrian squadron with 25 horses of its own, mainly deployed in the greater Berlin area, which belonged to the Berlin police until the end of 2002 and moved to Stahnsdorf near Teltow in 2017 .

Appearance

Lower Saxony mounted police with visor helmet instead of riding helmet (Braunschweig, 2005)

The officers of the cavalry squadrons, like all members of the security police, are in uniform; Their uniforms differ from the usual only in terms of shoes ( riding boots ) and trousers ( breeches ). A riding helmet serves as headgear on patrol, which is also replaced by a riot police- style visor helmet, depending on the situation, when protecting events and demonstrations .

Equipment (forms, etc.) is carried in saddle bags.

Equestrian squadrons in North Rhine-Westphalia

Formation of the state rider relay Westphalia at a May rally in Essen-Kray (2015)

Due to their size and their equestrian and sporting tradition, the equestrian squadrons in North Rhine-Westphalia are among the best-known mounted police forces in Germany and have long served as role models for other federal states. In 1992 there were still twelve cavalry units in North Rhine-Westphalia. Both horses and young riders were trained at the Cologne police rider squadron. From 1971 the police officer Klaus Balkenhol trained his service horse bully here up to high school and with him he became runner-up at the German championships in dressage in 1979 . In 1981 Balkenhol discovered the Westphalian fox gelding Goldstern among the Remont horses at a riding school in Cologne , whom he trained and led to the Olympic team dressage victory in 1992 in police uniform . The then head of the Cologne Police Rider Squadron confirmed that all of his horses were given their bread of grace: The oldest Cologne police horse was 27 years old and could only be on duty for a maximum of one hour a day. Only geldings are permitted as police horses in North Rhine-Westphalia . Dressage and show jumping are an integral part of the training. It is less about athletic performance than about optimally challenging the horse and keeping it fit for action.

In 2003, in the course of austerity measures, all ten equestrian squadrons in North Rhine-Westphalia were dissolved and the horses sold. A main motive was the ineffective way of working of the squadrons in the opinion of auditors, since the police officers spent too much time grooming the horses. After the change of government in the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2005 , police squadrons were set up again with leased horses and were already used at the 2006 World Cup . Since then there have been two mounted squadrons of the North Rhine-Westphalian police (Landesreiterstaffel Westfalen in Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion and Landesreiterstaffel Rheinland in Anrath , a district of Willich near Düsseldorf). In the coming years, it is planned to combine all mounted forces (currently 40 horses and 50 riders) into a single North Rhine-Westphalian squadron, which is to be barracked centrally in Bochum-Harpen , the location where the former Bochum squadron was housed until 2003 . The move should be completed by 2021.

Austria

From 1869 the mounted security guard began its service in the Austro-Hungarian capital. In 1913 there were 318 horses in the Viennese police. There were also mounted units in the gendarmerie . With the outbreak of the First World War , however, the riders were greatly reduced. In Austria , after the Second World War, the Graz police only had a mounted squadron, which was disbanded in 1950. The Austrian Federal Police did not have any mounted units until autumn 2018 .

Since around the turn of the millennium, representatives of certain parties, especially for Vienna, have repeatedly raised calls for a new set up of mounted police units, which have been very controversial. For a long time these proposals were rejected as unrealistic by representatives of the police because of the high costs. At the beginning of September 2018, under FPÖ Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, a location for the trial operation of the mounted police was set up in the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt , where 19 officers with a total of twelve horses began their training. During the riding training there was an accident in the summer of 2018 in which a policewoman was seriously injured. After evaluation by an expert commission headed by Interior Minister Wolfgang Peschorn , the project was discontinued by a decision of November 27, 2019 before the start of trial operation. The horses were given to an animal welfare organization.

Switzerland

The mounted police have existed in the Swiss canton of Bern since 1914 and are used, among other things, to monitor parking lots during major events. The police officers have a good view of a large park area from their horses, are mobile and have a deterrent effect on potential perpetrators. The Bern police rents the horses from the Bern National Horse Center . There are also mounted police in St. Gallen . In Zurich, the mounted police were abolished in 2005 for reasons of cost. There are efforts to reintroduce them.

International

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Parade Uniform (2007)

In other countries, too, there were or are mounted police units in numerous police forces. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is known. Contrary to their name, however, most of the approximately 27,000 members of this Canadian federal police force do not ride. In Great Britain , according to the police website, as of May 2018, mounted police with nine horses are on duty in London.

There are also mounted police in the United States. The New York Mounted Police have existed since 1871 and have around 60 horses. She is also nicknamed "Ten Foot Cops" because the horse and rider together are approximately three meters high. It serves to cultivate the image, effectively marks presence, but is also used for demonstrations.

Risks and Criticism

Risks for protesters

Australian police riders in chain formation, horses with head protection (2009)

In stressful situations, it cannot always be ruled out that horses, despite good training, will get out of control and overrun people. The risk of injury to people is quite high because the horses are shod and heavy. For example, during a demonstration on May 1, 2015 in Hamburg, a passively standing demonstrator was seriously injured when a shy horse ran over him and hit his head with its hooves. Representatives of the press criticized the Hamburg police for having led the horses directly into the demonstrating crowd, which was unsuitable as a deployment strategy. The police tactic of having riders ride into a group of people in order to drive them apart is generally associated with an increased risk of injury and has been criticized for a long time as being too brutal.

Risks to horses

Like police officers, police horses are also exposed to particular risks when deployed. In June 2004 in Hanover, for example, a police horse crushed a window while walking backwards during a soccer game and injured itself so badly that it had to be put to sleep. Attacks against service horses with projectiles, fireworks or poles during demonstrations also occur.

Criticism from animal rights activists

Animal rights activists criticize the use of police horses also from an animal welfare point of view and point out that their training would contradict a species-appropriate attitude, since the natural flight instinct of the animals should be suppressed.

Horse lovers, on the other hand, are of the opinion that a well-trained, relaxed horse that reacts without fear to environmental stimuli is more satisfied. That is why special composure tests are organized under the umbrella of the German Equestrian Association .

See also

literature

  • Sybill Ebers: Police and Horse. Between good and evil - the story of the mounted police. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-7843-3436-9 .

Web links

Commons : Mounted Police  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Mounted Police in Germany  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b German Police Union: The slow death of the Reiterstaffel. ( Memento from July 24, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. ↑ Hesse checks the efficiency of the police equestrian squadrons. In: FAZ. 2004.
  3. ↑ Equestrian Relay Federal Police Berlin , Stallion Parade Neustadt / Dosse 2016
  4. ↑ Serenity training - ways to a relaxed horse! , Christina Heß, Herzenspferd.de
  5. ↑ Showabend mounted police Stuttgart , German Masters 2014
  6. ↑ Serious riots in British football: Newcastle supporters attack police officers.
  7. ↑ Information from the Bavarian Police , as of February 6, 2019, accessed on May 11, 2019.
  8. ↑ Bavaria is expanding rider squadrons - CSU. Retrieved May 11, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Landtag Baden-Württemberg  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 46 kB)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.landtag-bw.de  
  10. ↑ Law enforcement officers on horseback, FAZ, 2010
  11. ↑ Blog entry with photos about NRW Reiterstaffeln ( Memento from November 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ^ Ministry of the Interior and Sport Hamburg September 29, 2010
  13. ↑ Die Reiterstaffel - versatile means of deployment (PDF; 4.8 MB) Police report 2010, pp. 22-25.
  14. Jump up ↑ Police rider squadron before the end. at: welt.de/print , November 24, 2011.
  15. ↑ Hamburg police horses remain. NDR, September 19, 2012.
  16. ↑ Bauernblatt Schleswig-Holstein: Reiterstaffel of the Hamburg police convinced by effectiveness ( Memento from June 30, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  17. ↑ The Federal Police's cavalry unit moves into new quarters. In: Berliner Morgenpost . May 13, 2017, archived from the original on November 29, 2018 . ;.
  18. ↑ a b c Leased equestrian relay: Use at football and carnival . Article in the SZ from May 19, 2010 (accessed on May 6, 2015).
  19. ↑ Good police horses keep calm even in carnival . Article in Die Zeit dated September 11, 1992 (accessed May 6, 2015).
  20. ↑ Use on four hooves. ZOOM. The special magazine for Düsseldorf Zoo , June 1, 2014, p. 10 , archived from the original on June 11, 2014 ; accessed on August 8, 2018 .
  21. ↑ New police squadrons in NRW. ( Memento from June 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) at: polizei-nrw.de , archive of the March 2006 edition.
  22. ↑ Bochum has a mounted police force again , in WAZ from April 9, 2015 (accessed on April 30, 2015).
  23. ^ FPÖ calls for mounted police officers on Danube Island. In: mein district.at , April 25, 2016, accessed on May 26, 2018.
  24. ↑ Mounted police will not be introduced. In: orf.at , November 27, 2019, accessed on November 28, 2019.
  25. ^ Website of the National Horse Center Bern ( Memento from April 27, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  26. ↑ a b Image cultivation on horseback. on: nzz.ch , March 21, 2011.
  27. ↑ Marion Loher: On Horseback - City Police are increasingly appearing on horseback again. (PDF; 2 MB) in-house newspaper of the St. Gallen City Police, June 8, 2009, archived from the original on May 19, 2014 ; accessed on August 8, 2018 .
  28. ↑ Police officers should take action against rubbish offenders on horseback. In: Tagesanzeiger. 3rd October 2012.
  29. ↑ Police equestrian squadron in Vienna: 900,000 euros costs? meinviertel.at, May 25, 2018, accessed May 26, 2018.
  30. ↑ Police horses in training. In: Rheinische Post , March 21, 2006 (via the Reiterkette as a classic deployment of mounted police units; accessed on May 27, 2017)
  31. ↑ May 1 in Hamburg: Unsuccessful deployment of the Reiterstaffel , video report in Spiegel Online from May 4, 2015 (accessed on May 7, 2015).
  32. ↑ a b Castor transport: Brutal use of the police , photo report in Der Spiegel from November 27, 2011 (accessed on April 13, 2020).
  33. ↑ On the back of the horses , comment by Lena Kaiser in the TAZ of May 6, 2015 (accessed on May 7, 2015).
  34. ↑ Serenity training - ways to a relaxed horse! , Christina Heß, Herzenspferd.de
  35. ↑ Serenity test for sport and leisure horses (PDF; 2.7 MB). Reprint of Cavallo magazine , as of January 2012.