Landespolizei (German for 'state police'; German pronunciation: [ˌlandəspoliˈt͡saɪ] ) is a term used to refer to the state police of any of the states of Germany.
Landespolizei (German for 'state police'; German pronunciation: [ˌlandəspoliˈt͡saɪ] ) is a term used to refer to the state police of any of the states of Germany.
State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction over the relevant sub-national jurisdiction, and may cooperate in law enforcement activities with municipal or national police where either exist.
The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers encompass arrest and the use of force legitimized by the state via the monopoly on violence. The term is most commonly associated with the police forces of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from the military and other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. Police forces are usually public sector services, funded through taxes.
Law enforcement is only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Police forces have become ubiquitous and a necessity in complex modern societies. However, their role can sometimes be controversial, as they may be involved to varying degrees in corruption, brutality, and the enforcement of authoritarian rule.
The Hamburg Police (German: Hamburger Polizei or Polizei Hamburg) is the German Landespolizei force for the city-state of Hamburg. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and state (Land) agencies. A precursor to the agency, the Polizei-Behörde, has existed since 1814.
The State Minister for the Interior (German: Senator für Inneres) oversees the Hamburg Police, which consists of aviation, water, road and port patrols, and crime investigation. The city of Hamburg is served by police stations (German: Polizeikommissariate) of the Uniformed Police (German: Schutzpolizei). Head of police is Polizeipräsident Ralf Martin Meyer. In 2008 Hamburg Police had 500,335 deployments.
The Brandenburg Police (German: Polizei Brandenburg) is Landespolizei for the German state of Brandenburg.
The Spezialeinsatzkommando (SEK, "Special Task Force") are police tactical units of each of the 16 German state police forces that specialize in a quick response with SWAT unit tactics to emergencies. Along with the Mobiles Einsatzkommando (MEK), Personenschutzkommando (bodyguards), and the Verhandlungsgruppe (negotiation teams in some states), they are part of the police Spezialeinheiten (special operations units) of each state force.
Mainly unrecognized by the media and public, the main missions of SEK units include providing paramilitary operations in urban areas, apprehension of armed and dangerous criminals, high-risk law enforcement situations, hostage rescue crisis management, serving of high-risk arrest warrants, supporting counterterrorism activities, and raids, as well as other scenarios like providing personal security details for VIPs or witnesses. Since the 1970s, each SEK has handled several thousand deployments. The front-runner is the SEK of the Berlin Police with up to 500 deployments a year, an average of 1.4 deployments a day.
The Berlin Police (German: Polizei Berlin, lit. 'Police Berlin'; formerly Der Polizeipräsident in Berlin, lit. 'The Police President in Berlin') is the Landespolizei (lit. 'state police') force for the city-state of Berlin, Germany. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and state (Land) agencies.
The Berlin Police is headed by the Polizeipräsident (lit. 'Chief of Police'), Barbara Slowik Meisel. Her Polizeivizepräsident (lit. 'Vice-chief of Police' or 'deputy') is Marco Langner. They are supported in the management of the force by the Staff Office of the Police Chief, the commanders of the five Local Divisions, the Division for Central Tasks, the Criminal Investigation Department, and the Central Services Division and the Academy of Police.
The Schutzpolizei (German pronunciation: [ˌʃʊt͡spoliˈt͡saɪ] ), or Schupo (IPA: [ˈʃuːpo] ) for short, is a uniform-wearing branch of the Landespolizei, the state (Land) level police of the states of Germany. Schutzpolizei literally means security or protection police, but it is best translated as uniformed police.
The Schutzpolizei has by far the largest number of personnel, is on duty 24 hours per day, and has the broadest range of duties. On patrol duty, mainly in vehicles, they keep their respective area under surveillance.