Berlin/Frankfurt am Main. Exactly a year ago to the day, the Bundestag faction of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen submitted a motion to the Bundestag on the subject of “Recognizing anti-constitutional tendencies in the police and resolving them”. In its printed paper 19/20063, submitted on June 16, 2020, the parliamentary group demands, among other things, that the Federal Government should work to ensure that the Conference of Interior Ministers obtain a statistical overview “of incidents at federal and state police authorities that are within the meaning of the Political crime (PMK) have a political background and could indicate group-related misanthropy as well as right-wing extremist and other anti-constitutional attitudes ”. Now, one year after the application, events in Frankfurt am Main show how necessary the initiative of the Greens was and is. Frankfurt police officers are currently being investigated for right-wing extremist activities.
As it became known on Wednesday last week (June 9th), around 20 officers of the Special Operations Command (SEK) are said to have sent messages with inciting content and shared unconstitutional symbols in a chat for at least two years. In the meantime, the apartments and offices of a number of the accused have been searched. According to the latest information, the chat group is said to have consisted of more than 50 people – most of the police officers.
Hesse’s Interior Minister Peter Beuth has meanwhile announced that the SEK of the Frankfurt police headquarters will be dissolved. A staff of experts is to restructure the unit. The unacceptable misconduct of police officers and the turning away of immediate superiors in the SEK Frankfurt make this step inevitable for him, said Beuth last Thursday (June 10) at a press conference in the Main metropolis. The chats uncovered suggested that some SEK employees had a “dull, discriminatory attitude and some right-wing extremist attitudes”, according to the CDU politician.
Public hearing in the Paul-Löbe-Haus with four experts
Yes, the Greens’ motion “Recognize anti-constitutional tendencies in the police and tackle them decisively” comes at the right time. And there is more than just one application: next Monday (June 21) there will be a public hearing at the 147th meeting of the Committee on Home Affairs from 1 p.m., to which four experts have been invited.
According to the present agenda, these are Professor Dr. Christoph Kopke (Berlin School of Economics and Law), Daniel Kretzschmar (Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter, State Chairman Berlin), Jürgen Peter (Vice President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Wiesbaden) and Sinan Selen (Vice President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Cologne).
Fight undesirable developments with all determination
The parliamentary group points out that “group-related misanthropy, including racist and anti-Semitic attitudes, is still widespread in society as a whole”. Police authorities should pay special attention to the spread of such hostility and to right-wing extremist and other anti-constitutional attitudes among their employees “because of their special role in and for the state and their sovereign powers”. If these undesirable developments were not combated with all determination, then “the reputation and trust in the police could suffer massively”.
The applicants literally demand: “Against the background of increased reports of right-wing extremist incidents in the ranks of the security authorities in general, in particular the police, and in view of our historical responsibility, this problem requires special attention and real countermeasures from all those involved, including the Federal Government. “
Randnotiz
The public hearing initiated by the Greens “Recognize anti-constitutional tendencies in the police and tackle them resolutely” by the Committee on Home Affairs and Home Affairs on June 21, 2021 will take place from 1 p.m. in the Paul Löbe House of the German Bundestag (room 4900 / Europa hall). Four experts are expected. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the public will only be produced via TV broadcast / recording. Information provided without guarantee.
Symbolic image “Policeman” from the range of images from Pixabay.
(Photo: fsHH / CC0 Creative Commons = free commercial use, no picture credits required
Small contribution picture: Symbol representation “Police station” from the range of images from Pixabay.
(Photo: Alexas / CC0 Creative Commons = free commercial use, no picture credits required)
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