Gentian special unit
The special unit "Enzian" is the oldest special unit of the Swiss police . It was set up in 1972. The unit is assigned to the Bern canton police and a member of the Atlas network of European police special units .
assignment
Like most of the other special police units, Enzian is deployed when there is a high degree of risk to the life and limb of all those involved. A coordinated approach, adapted to the circumstances, with specialized, coordinated and appropriately equipped police officers is required. Examples of their areas of application are hostage-taking or coordinated arrests with increased risk. In addition, personal protection is one of the tasks of the Enzian members.
Enzian has specially trained precision shooters who cover the entire area of north-west Switzerland and can be requested by the police corps of the cantonal police SO, AG, BL and BS.
organization
The special unit was attached to the criminal police , which is unique in Switzerland. This ensures close and good cooperation with the various other departments of the criminal investigation department. Enzian is assigned to the same special manhunt along with the observation unit and the negotiating group. In this way, synergies can be used optimally.
In contrast to many other Swiss units, in which the officers perform normal shift and patrol duty and only form the special unit in appropriate cases, the officers of the Enzian unit only work within the unit during standby time (training, advanced training, etc.). For a long time it was the only full-time special police unit in Switzerland. In the meantime, however, other units have also become more professional.
The Enzian department is led by a staff and has four departments (operations, personal protection, technology and training). The deployment department has two deployment groups, which cover all areas of operation and alternately perform the 24-hour on- call service. The personal protection department is responsible for all personal protection operations and is supported by the task forces. The technical group deals primarily with all technical aids and devices and joins the operational groups in the event of an emergency. The training group is responsible for training and further education and supports the operational and personal protection group in action. Regardless of whether they belong to a specialization group, each member can and will be deployed in every situation as required.
After the merger of the canton police with the Bern city police, the number of gentians was increased by more than ten members. These were recruited from what was then the Stern special unit of the Bern City Police.
Recruitment and training
The unit recruits new employees from all departments of the Bern cantonal police. The prerequisite is a completed police school and several years of service experience. Interested parties can respond to the internal advertisement and take a two-day admission test. In addition to physical requirements such as sport and shooting, this very demanding entrance test requires above all a good psyche and a strong personality. The basic training takes several months. During this time and at least for the first year as provisional members of the special unit, these police officers are affiliated to a personal protection group. After this year, in which mainly training is carried out and initial experience in personal protection is gained, the prospective employees can register for a place in a task force after completing and successfully completing basic training, or remain a permanent member of the personal protection group. After at least one more year in the task force, he can, if necessary and depending on his or her suitability, receive further training as a precision shooter or task force technician. According to Enzian, a new civil servant needs about a year to get used to and after about two more years he will achieve maximum performance. After a total of ten years, he had to leave the unit and transferred to another department of the cantonal police. The policemen at the Enzian receive a higher wage categories to two grade as a patrolman.
equipment
Every official receives as personal armament a gun of type SIG Sauer P226 . The precision shooters also have a precision rifle from Accuracy International in .308 Winchester caliber with 10-inch barrel, residual light amplifier from Simrad and Brügger & Thomet - silencer . The unit also has the SIG 551P in .223 caliber and various versions of the MP5 from the German manufacturer Heckler & Koch .
literature
- Frank B. Metzner / Joachim Friedrich: Police special units in Europe , Motorbuch Verlag, ISBN 3-613-02249-4 , pages 188/189
Web links
- Elsbeth Tobler: Elite police officers: on call in case of danger. Article about the special unit Enzian u. a .; (mainly deals with the Stern special unit) (2004), in the archive of onlinereports.ch