Law enforcement in Germany in the context of "Police"

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 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 [de]. 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.