NCJ Number
205320
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 52 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2004 Pages: 64-66,68,70
Date Published
March 2004
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the structure of Germany’s police force and discusses the job of the Bavarian State Police divers.
Abstract
Each of Germany’s 16 Federal States have their own police force, which are independent of Federal control. Strict guidelines govern the support and interaction between the police forces in Germany. When police need an experienced police diver, they call on the services of the divers attached to the various Bepo police formations, which are separate readiness police forces that are part of the Bavarian police force. Divers are stationed at Bepo barracks in Munich, Dachau, Nuremberg, and Wurzburg. All police divers complete the usual 2 to 3-year basic State police training and then receive diver training in an 8-week course in Munich. Once trained and part of the police force, police divers have the authority to make judgments about whether it is safe to dive, depending upon conditions such as weather, water currents, and ship traffic. Divers must remain qualified as divers by passing annual medical examinations and completing 12 dive hours per year. Finally, budgeting problems within Germany’s police force has forced police divers to dive with out-dated equipment. It is with these challenges that the Bepo divers of Germany carry out their underwater duties.