Suddenly the numbers are available that many had asked for: In the Dortmund police there were suspected cases of right-wing extremist ideas among inspector candidates and other employees.
In 7 out of 14 cases they turned out to be justified. That is a fraction of the approximately 3,000 employees. But it’s a big problem. And the question arises: Why is the information only coming now?
It leaves a crooked picture that the police have so far never mentioned the suspected cases in response to multiple inquiries, but are now on the information offensive when the topic became public in another way.
No question about it: Police President Gregor Lange’s work against right-wing extremist ideas in his authority is credible. The procedure he described against “renegade civil servants and collective bargaining employees” sounds consistent.
But: If the police had communicated openly and transparently earlier, that would have helped to reduce distrust in parts of the population.
The subject is not off the table
It is important to keep an eye on the dark field in which right-wing ideas can also spread in other ways than via photos in messenger services as in the case of the current investigations.
It should also be emphasized that a different standard must apply to police officers than to other areas of society. There must not be the slightest doubt about their basic democratic attitude.
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