Police trade unionists have reacted cautiously and sometimes with criticism to the study published on Tuesday by researchers at the University of Frankfurt on violence by police officers. The police union (GdP) was concerned that the appearance could arise that the German police regularly move outside the law: "This impression is expressly wrong," said GdP state chairman Jens Mohrherr.

Sascha Zoske

Newspaper editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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According to the researchers led by Tobias Singelnstein, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Law at Goethe University, excessive police violence is rarely dealt with. Singelnstein and his staff interviewed more than 3300 alleged victims and conducted more than 60 qualitative interviews with police officers, judges, prosecutors and lawyers as well as employees of victim counselling centres. The study was funded by the German Research Foundation.

The interlocutors often complained about what they considered to be inappropriate behaviour of police officers at major events such as demonstrations and football matches, but also during identity checks. Young men were particularly often accused of being victims of police violence. "The survey data as well as the interviews also show that marginalized people are particularly affected by excessive police violence," said Singelnstein.

Reports of serious injuries and trauma

19 percent of those allegedly affected reported that they had suffered serious injuries. There was also talk of psychological impairments such as anger and fear of the police, as well as the fact that certain situations or places were now avoided and trust in the police and the state had been lost.

The study cites individual, situational or organizational factors as possible causes of unlawful police violence. Deficiencies in communication, stress, excessive demands, but also discriminatory behavior of officials could promote assaults. The same applies to inquiries from those affected, disrespect and an attitude of refusal towards police intervention.

According to the investigation, the willingness to report suspected illegal actions by police officers is low. "As a result, a large proportion of suspected cases of unlawful police use of force remain in the dark field," Singelnstein reported. "Only 14 percent of the victims we interviewed said that criminal proceedings had taken place in their case." 90 percent of the proceedings are discontinued by the public prosecutors, and charges are only brought in about two percent of cases. Police officers often find it difficult to incriminate colleagues by making statements, and it is difficult for prosecutors to approach such cases with an open mind because of the daily cooperation with the police.

Often there is statement against statement

According to the law professor, this could lead to potential victims not being believed: their statements are often contrasted with those of the police officers involved in the operation, and there is a lack of further evidence. In the confrontation following the use of force by the police, "the police interpretation proves to be particularly assertive in view of these circumstances and thus documents the special power of definition of the police".

Singelnstein complained to the German Press Agency that police violence in Germany, unlike in other countries, is not sufficiently recorded statistically. In addition, the laws do not explicitly state which forms of "simple physical violence" – such as painful grips – are allowed to police officers.

GdP state leader Mohrherr sees the study as "more confirmed than put on new paths" in his trade union work. Unfortunately, the study does not take into account the daily challenges and working conditions of colleagues, especially in so-called hotspot areas. Hardly any other profession is associated with similar challenges as that of a police officer. In view of this and the increasing number of operations in conflict-prone situations, "we consider it – at least – daring to come up with a case number of 'violence by law enforcement officers' that is almost in the per mille range".

"Extensive investigations by specialised services"

Questioning the independence of the judiciary in the event of suspected police violence "suggests a problematic relationship with the basic pillars of our democracy," Mohrherr said. Dirk Peglow, federal and state chairman of the Association of German Criminal Investigators, expressed a similar view. In all cases of allegedly illegal police behavior, there are extensive investigations by specialized departments, which led to a transparent examination by the public prosecutor's office. In this respect, it is permissible to assume that the use of physical force by police officers was unlawful only in exceptional cases.

Jörg-Uwe Hahn, domestic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group in the Hessian state parliament, sees "gaps in research into police violence" like Singelnstein. Information on this would have to be recorded in a statistically transparent manner. "It would also make sense to create regulations on the use of physical violence." This also protects the police officers themselves. "The results of the study, which have now been published, make it clear that police violence is a real problem," said Torsten Felstehausen, domestic policy spokesman for the Left Party. His party sees the investigations as confirmation of what it has been problematizing for years.