Hamburg Police Commission

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The Hamburg Police Commission was a political body in Hamburg with the task of "recognizing and reporting on internal undesirable developments and the resulting threats to compliance with the rule of law by the police" (§2, Paragraph 1 of the Law on the Police Commission - GPK)

history

The investigation committee "Hamburg Police" , which was set up after the Hamburg police scandal, recommended the establishment of such a commission. In 1998, at the request of the Green Alternative List Hamburg , this recommendation was implemented by the then Red-Green government ( Senate Round ) by law of June 16, 1998 and the commission was set up on September 1, 1998. It existed until the change of government in 2001 ( Senate von Beust I ). In 2008, Joachim Lenders, head of the German Police Union, spoke out against reintroduction: "'I have nothing against controls, which incidentally exist. But the body would signal an unjustified distrust of the police.'"

aims

In addition to the aforementioned task of recognizing undesirable developments and reporting on them, the investigative committee saw the following objectives for the commission according to the reasons for the law on the police commission:

  • "Overcoming the [...] wall of silence in the police"
  • "Unbiased examination of reported incidents without personal consideration"
  • "Protection of willing police officers against bullying"
  • "Cross-case structural analyzes as an early warning system for undesirable developments"

construction

Organizationally, it was part of the interior authority . The service and legal supervision , but not the technical supervision , was responsible for the interior minister . The commission was not bound by instructions (Section 2, Paragraph 2 of the Law on the Police Commission - GPK). The members were appointed by the Hamburg Senate (§1 Paragraph 2. GPK), whereby the appointment should be valid for four (and on the recommendation of the investigative committee for the first-time members two - §10 GPK) years (§1 Paragraph 3 GPK) . The members were the lawyers Ingrid Soehring and Ralf Heine and the sociologist and criminologist Fritz Sack . Citizens and police officers had the opportunity (in the case of police officers: without following official channels ) to contact the commission (§6 GPK). The commission itself had the right to information and inspection of files (§4 GPK), as well as unannounced access to all office rooms at any time (§4 GPK). The commission had to submit an annual report on its work to the Senate of the Hamburg Citizenship (§5 GPK).

costs

The members of the commission worked on a voluntary basis (Section 1, Paragraph 2, Clause 1 of the Law on the Police Commission ), but received an expense allowance under the Compensation Services Act (Section 9 GPK), approximately DM 40 per meeting. The commission also had its own offices and employed several full-time employees ( Karen Plath , lawyer and senior government councilor , and Werner Lehne , psychologist, criminologist and researcher), which resulted in annual costs of 380,000 DM (of which 100,000 DM from the budget for the police) caused. The Senate assumed around 386,000 DM annually (approx. 330,000 DM personnel expenses and around 56,000 DM material and specialist expenses ).

criticism

The Commission has been criticized in the world because it has not appeared externally for almost a year. The last press release was almost a year old and the due annual report did not appear in time either. "Critics from the CDU and trade unions [thought] the police commission [...] to be superfluous and counterproductive." The costs for the Commission were also criticized from this side.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ralf Gössner : The Hamburg "Police Commission". Civil Rights & Police / CILIP , March 2000, accessed on February 1, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Law on the Police Commission of June 16, 1998. Hamburg Law and Ordinance Gazette of June 24, 1998, No. 20, p. 93 in the online edition of Lütcke & Wulff , June 24 1998, accessed February 1, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k http://www.hamburg.de/Behoerden/Pressestelle/Mmeldung/tagesmektiven/1998/aug/w34/di/news.htm ( Memento from June 28, 2001 on the Internet Archive ) Hamburg Police Commission: An institution that is unique in Germany begins its work . Press release of the City of Hamburg from August 18, 1998. Accessed February 1, 2016
  4. ↑ a b c d Union rejects police commission. Hamburger Abendblatt , March 15, 2008, accessed on February 1, 2016 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Insa Gall and André Zand-Vakili : Police Commission - Opponents see themselves confirmed. Die Welt , October 22, 1999, accessed February 1, 2016 .
  6. ↑ a b c printed matter 16/683. Hamburg Citizenship , April 21, 1998, accessed on February 1, 2016 .
  7. ↑ http://www.hamburg.de/Behoerden/Pressestelle/Meldung/tagesmeldung/1998/okt/w42/mo/news.htm ( Memento from March 11, 2002 in the Internet Archive ) The office of the police commission has started its work . Press release of the City of Hamburg of October 12, 1998. Accessed February 1, 2016
  8. ^ André Zand-Vakili : Hamburg Police Commission before the end. Die Welt , September 26, 2000, accessed February 1, 2016 .