NCJ Number
88640
Journal
Schriftenreihe der Polizei-Fuehrungsakademie Issue: 4 Dated: (1982) Pages: 312-320
Date Published
1982
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This anniversary speech briefly sketches the characteristics of West German society over the past 3 decades, emphasizing changes in the country's crime problems and public attitudes as well as the challenges these pose for law enforcement personnel.
Abstract
The 1950's were a time of minimal, localized crime, enforced by vocationally trained men, on the average about 10 years older than the typical police officer of today. Complexities emerged in the 60's: new crime forms appeared (drug abuse, violent crime, juvenile delinquency); public demonstrations took place and grew disorderly; police were unprepared for these challenges and the public decried the brutality of law enforcement responses. The 1970's take for granted the public view of the police as a threatening presence against whom citizens' rights must be protected. This challenge to the police image requires of law enforcement officers a thorough understanding of their role in a democracy -- their obligation to uphold the individual dignity and civil rights of all individuals. The force which the police have the power to exercise serves but one purpose -- it is the guarantor of the civil liberties of the people, and police personnel in a modern democracy are accountable for their actions to the citizenry. A photograph is provided.