Police officers are often investigated in North Rhine-Westphalia. Cases of possible bodily harm and abuse of office are increasing.
The number of investigations against police officers for allegedly inadmissible use of violence has increased in North Rhine-Westphalia in recent years. This emerges from a statistic that the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Justice in Düsseldorf made available on request.
According to this, 843 cases of violence by police officers were determined in 2021. In 2018 there were still 676 cases, after which the numbers increased continuously. In the first half of 2022, there was at least no sign of a decline: 414 procedures were newly registered. This roughly corresponded to the previous year’s level. However, almost all of these procedures are discontinued. Only very rarely are charges or penal orders issued.
These cases have also been increasing recently. After eleven charges and penal order applications each in 2018 and 2019, the number fell to eight in 2020 and then rose to 19. This trend seemed to continue in 2022: at least ten charges and penal orders have already been registered for the first half of the year.
It’s not just allegations of physical harm that are increasing
The number of procedures also increased in the case of suspected abuse of office by police officers. While there were still 611 investigations in 2019, the number rose to 737 in 2020 and to 826 in 2021. The level seemed to continue in 2022: 390 new procedures were initiated in the first half of the year.
However, these procedures are usually discontinued. In 2018 there were 13 cases of indictment or penal orders, a year later in 12 cases and in 2020 in eight cases. In 2021, there were ten indictments or warrant requests. In 2022 there were signs of an increase: in the first half of the year, nine charges and penal order applications were included in the statistics.
Investigations because of many cell phone videos?
“Society has become more willing to sue. This also applies to police intervention,” said the head of the police union (GdP), Michael Mertens. Another factor is the many cell phone videos of police operations. “The small sequences often give a wrong impression,” said Mertens. He took the fact that only a few cases led to charges as a good sign. In addition, an indictment is not a conviction.
Mertens contradicted the claim that when police officers investigate police officers, “don’t peck out one crow’s eye from the other”. “My experience is that the investigating police officers are stricter in order not to expose themselves to this accusation. In addition, the public prosecutor’s office is in charge of the process, not the police,” said Mertens. There is no doubt that there are also black sheep in the ranks of the police and officials who “do things that are not good”.
