Allegations of “Abuse of Power” and a “Dysfunctional System” Plague Baden-Württemberg’s Police Force

HomeGermanyBaden-Württemberg

Created: 07/11/2023, 18:34

Split

Thomas Strobl (CDU), Interior Minister of Baden-Württemberg, speaks in the state parliament. © Bernd Weißbrod/dpa

The allegations in the committee of inquiry into the promotion practices of the police are becoming more and more violent. Even the Greens and the CDU are now talking about structural “abuse of power” and a “dysfunctional” system. The pressure on the interior minister is growing.

Stuttgart – Despite the descriptions of serious problems in the police transport system, Interior Minister Thomas Strobl sees no immediate need for action in his department. The state parliament’s investigative committee must now evaluate the statements, said the CDU politician on Tuesday in Stuttgart. He will not make any interim assessments of individual witness statements. Strobl also emphasized that contradictory statements had also been made in the committee. The committee must now examine the extent to which the statements correspond to the facts. All sides must be heard. But Strobl also said that the police structures are always under scrutiny.

On Monday, top officials had reported in an unprecedented clear form in the committee of trickery in job allocations, nepotism and threatening phone calls. Minions are said to have been maneuvered upwards past the formally correct assessment procedure. According to the statements, unwelcome aspirants were pressured and threatened to withdraw their applications. As a result, even the representatives of the green-black government factions spoke of structural “abuse of power” and a dysfunctional system after the meeting.

Of course, the testimonies gave him food for thought, Strobl said on Tuesday. But respect for the parliamentary committee means not commenting on the events and not anticipating anything. One shouldn’t mix up the facts “comfortably”. In the press conference, the minister also referred to the former state police chief Gerhard Klotter and the then police inspector Detlef Werner, who were responsible for some of the processes. It would be interesting to hear the assessment of those “who are directly responsible for this,” said Strobl. Then at the end of the day you can make an assessment. But that is the task of the committee of inquiry.

It is also in the nature of promotions that those who lose see things differently than those who are promoted, Strobl explained. You also live in a constitutional state. “Every promotion in the police force is subject to judicial review,” said the minister. Everyone would have had the opportunity to exercise their rights – especially since martial words were now being used, said Strobl.

The committee of inquiry deals with sexual harassment in state authorities and the practice of promotion in the police leadership. The focus is on the inspector of the police, who is currently facing allegations of sexual assault before the district court. The committee is trying to clarify how the inspector, who has since been released, could have had such a stellar career.

The Karlsruhe Police Vice President Hans Matheis testified in the committee on Monday that the inspector had been promoted to the LKA over him. In 2019 he was head of the state security department at the State Criminal Police Office and himself had the best assessment for the desired post as Vice President of the State Criminal Police Office. “And then one whoop diwupp is pushed past,” criticized Matheis. That was a severe blow.

He later applied for the post of state police director – and had to withdraw the application under pressure from the inspector, the 63-year-old reported. He had been threatened that he would otherwise be retired earlier than planned. Matheis said he was aware of several cases of this type in the police force. And if you fight back, you will be portrayed as a “nest polluter”.

The former President of the State Criminal Police Office, Ralf Michelfelder, reported to the committee that the inspector had installed a colleague as a department head in the State Criminal Police Office in spring 2021 – without any advertisement. At the time there was an interested party from his own company for the position – the man was not considered. “You can occupy him, but I won’t let him in,” he said to the inspector at the time. The transfer was then postponed until he retired several weeks later, Michelfelder said.

After the explosive descriptions, it is no longer just the opposition that speaks of a structural problem. Greens chairman Oliver Hildenbrand sees a structural “abuse of power” in the police leadership, he criticizes “mechanisms of cheating and cliques”. The CDU MP Christiane Staab also said that statements had shown “where things in the promotion and assessment system are so dysfunctional that they need to be further clarified”. There is still a long way to go until then. The SPD speaks of a “system of fear”, the FDP of “downright criminal methods” with which people are put under pressure. dpa

2023-07-11 15:17:22
#Abuse #power #Strobl #sees #act