More and more physical attacks and injured police officers – Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann and Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich on the situation report 2022: Combating violence against police officers more intensively
The situation report on violence against police officers in Bavaria 2022 (available at www.innenministerium.bayern.de) gives cause for concern: “Unfortunately, serious attacks on our police officers continue to increase”, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann complained today at the presentation. With 2,967 injured police officers, including 22 seriously injured, a new sad record was reached last year since the situation reports were compiled in 2010 (2021: 2,629; +12.9 per cent). “Apparently, the inhibition threshold is falling more and more to deliberately injure our emergency forces or at least to accept their injury,” said Herrmann. Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich: “Anyone who attacks our emergency forces is also attacking the rule of law.” The Minister of Justice is in complete agreement with the Minister of the Interior: “Violence against police officers must be fought more intensively. We must protect those who protect us every day!”
In the state situation report, a total of 7,878 cases were registered for the past year (2021: 7,826; +0.7 per cent), including 4,586 cases of physical violence (2021: 4,379; + 4.7 per cent). Cases of physical violence include robbery, assault, resistance and the offence ‘assault on law enforcement officers’. In addition, there were 2,794 offences of insulting behaviour (2022: 3,080 cases; -9.3 per cent). Eight attacks were classified as attempted homicides in 2022, three cases more than in 2021 (2021: 5). In also eight cases, the attacker carried a sharp firearm (2021: 12), and in two cases they were even used against the emergency forces (2021: 0). “Fortunately, we did not have to mourn any killed police officers in Bavaria in 2022 either,” Herrmann explained. Eisenreich: “Police officers, rescue workers and other public service employees have been increasingly targeted by physical attacks in recent years. The intensity of these attacks is also increasing. One thing is clear: anyone who attacks our emergency services is also attacking the rule of law. The Bavarian judiciary consistently prosecutes attacks on emergency forces. The penal code provides for prison sentences of up to five years for assaults on emergency forces.”
In March 2020, Herrmann and Eisenreich gave the starting signal for the Bavarian-wide implementation of the action plan “Violence against emergency forces – prosecute perpetrators, protect helpers”. Particularly serious or high-profile offences at the expense of police officers and other emergency forces are identified and dealt with more quickly by special contact persons at the police and public prosecutor’s offices. Eisenreich: “Due to the close, trusting cooperation between the public prosecutor’s office and the police, investigations can be concluded particularly quickly and efficiently. The punishment follows the crime on its heels.”
According to Herrmann, the protection of police officers has special priority. “Intensive basic and advanced training is very important to us,” the Interior Minister explained, citing regular operational training in state-of-the-art training centres as an example. In addition, he said, the Free State has invested considerably in the equipment of the Bavarian police forces and thus also in their protection, with more than 120 million euros in the past years. “This includes, among other things, ballistic protective equipment, batons and new service weapons. In addition, the Bavarian police currently have more than 1,800 body cams in use. In addition, there are distance electro-pulse devices at all closed units of the state police and all platoons of the support commandos in Bavaria. “And last but not least, the new state-of-the-art blue uniform, together with the protective and recognisable waistcoat, also improves self-protection,” Herrmann added.
