By Axel Lier
Dear police, you need to talk (even) more!
Five scientists from the Technical University accompanied 150 officials on deployment for more than three months. Reason: They wanted to find out where officers might have problems with racism or discrimination and what to do about it.
The result of the 200,000-euro study: Everything actually smells good, but the police officers should reflect more often and talk more about their job…
Project manager Christiane Howe: “Young police officers in particular are highly sensitive to discrimination”, the authority “relatively diverse”. When asked whether “racial profiling” – i.e. when a person is classified as a suspect only because of the color of their skin – is widespread among Berlin police officers, Howe says: “I’m not saying that it doesn’t exist, but not in the form as it is rumored.”
The police job consists “three quarters of talking”, the project manager continues, the job is very “really very language-oriented”. Howe: “We’ve always seen natural talent out there.”
Nevertheless, she thinks more advanced training, tandem programs with experienced colleagues, the provision of group reflection rooms and the expansion of internal and external consulting programs are important.
Beate Ostertag, spokeswoman for the police, says about the demands: “We are checking it.”