Baden-Württemberg Police Union Slams Selection Process: Fairness and Transparency Needed
Union unwaveringly maintains: No space for high-ranking legal professionals within the police force - Union expresses fury: Leading picks excluded from police selection
Hey there! Let's dive into the buzz around the police force in Baden-Württemberg. The scene is heating up due to the Police Union (GdP) voicing concerns about the current recruitment process.
It's all about the overwhelming interest in joining the police force. Law graduates with top-notch qualifications are being rejected because, well, there's just not enough room. A spokesperson from the Ministry of the Interior in Stuttgart explained that highly qualified applicants were ranked based on a list and study places were allocated accordingly when the application deadline was extended. But the GdP calls foul on the abrupt exclusion of motivated candidates.
Even those who'd aced the selection tests and had a good chance of being hired in July received rejection notices in mid-June. The GdP suspects a lack of capacity is behind the scenes, masked by a raised selection threshold.
The situation has many young hopefuls rethinking their lives – canceling jobs, apartments, and undergoing medical procedures like laser eye surgery to meet the police service requirements.
Thomas Strobl (CDU), the Minister of the Interior, launched a hiring offensive in 2016 to address retirements, which has resulted in about 500 more police officers than at the time. The target is to increase this number to 1,000 more by next year, with 1,200 training and study places planned for 2025 and 2026.
But the GdP insists that a lack of beds and teaching staff shouldn't determine who becomes a police officer and who doesn't. They want reliable and transparent personnel planning, fair and reliable selection procedures, and quick investments in training infrastructure and personnel.
The ministry claims that completing a selection test is a prerequisite, though not a guarantee for employment. They acknowledge that since 2023, there's been the possibility of a direct offer for study in the competition for the best minds. This year, a similar trend is emerging for the autumn recruitment in the middle police service. Around 160 applicants who've passed the selection test haven't received a binding employment offer, and another 150 haven't submitted complete documents like medical records and certificates of good conduct.
The holdup in some rejections is due to the high number of applications, with selection tests not being completed until May, followed by selection interviews. The union demands that more employment opportunities be created for the July 2025 intake and suggests that successful applicants could start their training in the middle police service in the fall and work towards their application for 2026.
In a nutshell, the Police Union GdP is displeased with the current selection process, citing inadequate reliability and transparency. They seek reforms to implement fair and clear criteria for selecting police officers, reliable workforce planning, and transparent recruitment procedures. This call for change aligns with broader efforts towards more accountable policing in German states.
[1] Source: Independent Police Commissioners in German States.
- Amidst the controversy, the Police Union (GdP) in Baden-Württemberg advocates for a reform in the employment policy of the police force, urging for reliable and transparent personnel planning, fair and reliable selection procedures, and investments in training infrastructure and personnel.
- Beyond the Police Union's (GdP) complaint about the Baden-Württemberg police recruitment process, their call for accountable policing in German states echoes broader policy-and-legislation and general-news discourse regarding fair employment practices and politics.
