Abstract
The paper describes the history of the German police and analyzes the recent structure of the different police forces with special focus on community policing. The police laws of the 16 German states deal with the prevention of crime and the preservation of public security and order. This is why there is no single strategy or philosophy for policing in Germany. Each state and each local community can decide on their own way of policing. An important part of the work of the uniformed police is often district policing, the German version of community policing. In some communities this has led to the specific so-called security partnerships between police and representatives of citizen organizations, businesses, and of private and state institutions. These security partnerships deal with social problems. In some way this work can be regarded as community policing, but the work of the district police is often seen more in terms of “good to have around.” The criminal justice code applies to the whole Federal Republic. The authorities and officials of the police force must investigate crimes. This principle of legality is the most unique regulation: The police, neither as an institution nor as the police officer, himself/herself is allowed to dismiss a case. This is only possible by the office of the public prosecutor (attorney of the state).
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Feltes, T., Marquardt, U., Schwarz, S. (2013). Policing in Germany: Developments in the Last 20 Years. In: Meško, G., Fields, C., Lobnikar, B., Sotlar, A. (eds) Handbook on Policing in Central and Eastern Europe. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6720-5_7
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