Police chaplaincy
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In the Federal Republic of Germany there is police chaplaincy in all federal states as well as at the Federal Police . On the basis of corresponding contracts between the federal states or the federal government and the large Christian churches , their task includes the professional ethical reflection of police action in training and further education, operational support and follow-up care in difficult missions and the provision of pastoral care in the form of discussions, Seminars, worship celebrations, retreats, etc. Ä.
Police chaplains have an official duty of confidentiality in accordance with confessional secrecy based on church law and a right to refuse to testify on the basis of Section 53 of the Code of Criminal Procedure .
The often stressful experiences of police officers, for example when delivering death notices, kidnappings, hostage-taking, searching for victims of violence, during large-scale operations and after traffic accidents or physical injuries resulting in death, make comprehensive support necessary. Victims of bullying and internal or external violence, as well as those affected by the framework conditions of the police service, also require accompaniment.
For the police - in addition to members of the police psychology service or other internal police advice centers - police chaplains, sometimes even entire crisis intervention teams, are available. For the care of victims, relatives, first aiders and other affected persons there is help from the emergency pastoral care .
In order to understand police issues, information is often necessary that is subject to official secrecy and is not accessible to outsiders. Therefore, a lived proximity to the police and the "field competence" acquired are prerequisites for the service of police chaplaincy.
Police chaplains come from different pastoral professions, are pastors, priests, pastoral and parish officers or are members of a religious community . Nationwide, there are both full-time commissioned police chaplains and -seelsorger and side by side and volunteer instructed the (municipal i. D. R.) in the main office in other pastoral duties are used. The police chaplaincy attaches great importance to ecumenical cooperation.
Switzerland
The first job for police chaplaincy in Switzerland was for the Zurich city and canton police . In 2011, this position was increased and divided between two people: 80% police chaplaincy and 50% for pastoral care for the fire and rescue services. In 2006, the second police chaplaincy in Switzerland was established in the canton of Lucerne . A pastor was employed for 30% of the approximately 800 employees of the Lucerne police and the 300 militia firefighters of the city of Lucerne fire brigade . The third canton with a police chaplaincy is the canton of Aargau . A pastor has been employed there for 20% for this task since the end of 2010.
In Switzerland, unlike in Germany, these pastoral care centers are organized ecumenically. This means that a pastor carries out this task for the two large churches. These categorical pastoral care offices are financed with contributions from the respective police and fire brigade corps, but also from the Protestant Reformed and Catholic Churches, as well as partly from the Christian Catholic parish.
In addition to caring for the emergency services, the pastors also take on training tasks in the field of professional ethics and offer services on topics relevant to the profession.
The duty of confidentiality for police chaplains is regulated in the secrecy of confession and the right to refuse to testify is due to the StPO Art. 171.1.
literature
- Kurt Grützner , Wolfgang Gröger , Claudia Kiehn , Werner Schiewek (eds.): Handbuch Polizeiseelsorge. 2nd Edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-525-62420-3 .
- Michael Arnemann : Church and Police: Between conformity and self-assertion. Historical foundations and current perspectives for church action in state organizations. University of Münster, Münster 2004, ISBN 3-8258-8105-9 (dissertation).
- Tobias Trappe , Judith Palm (ed.): Strengthening people: ethics and pastoral care for the police. Verlag für Polizeiwissenschaft, Frankfurt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86676-225-1 .
- Frank Rutkowsky : We are the good guys! Ethics for the police. 2nd Edition. Hamburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-00-056291-4 .
Web links
- Website of the police chaplaincy in Germany
- Website of the police chaplaincy Zurich
- Website of the police chaplaincy Lucerne
Individual evidence
