2024-04-08 02:15:08
The police are not immune to extremism either: several federal states are reporting investigations against officials.
In several federal states, police officers are being investigated on suspicion of right-wing extremist views or support for a conspiracy ideology. There are said to be at least 400 civil servants in several federal states. This was the result of a query in the 16 interior ministries, reports the magazine. However, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Bremen and Thuringia did not provide any current figures.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul told “Stern”: “Police officers who do not stand on the basis of the constitution but instead pursue extremist views are a great danger to democracy and the rule of law.” The CDU politician said he didn’t want these people in the police force.
Police union: Danger greater than ever before
The magazine quotes the Bundestag’s police commissioner, Uli Grötsch (SPD), as saying: “We live in times in which right-wing extremists are deliberately trying to destabilize the police.” The danger is greater than ever.
Investigations into possible extremists in the ranks of federal and state security authorities have been ongoing for years. The Federal Ministry of the Interior had already published a situation report on this in 2022. At that time it became known that 327 employees had come to attention within three years because of demonstrable connections to right-wing extremism or the Reich Citizens scene.
In the fall of 2020, dozens of police officers were investigated in a large-scale operation in North Rhine-Westphalia. More than 200 investigators were deployed during the searches by the “Parabel” special commission on the morning of September 16th. 35 police stations and private homes in Duisburg, Essen, Moers, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Oberhausen were searched. 30 officials were immediately suspended.
Three years later there were again reports that police officers in North Rhine-Westphalia had exchanged information in right-wing extremist WhatsApp groups. Investigations were started against eight people.