NCJ Number
144827
Date Published
1993
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the findings of a study that examined police functions in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) as reflected in calls for assistance received by the police line.
Abstract
The study on Police Mobilization and Patrol Dispatches encompassed all of the 31 German cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants. The number of telephone calls to police in those cities was similar, approximately 17,000-38,000 calls per 100,000 inhabitants. There was a steady increase in the rate of calls per 100,000 inhabitants until the beginning of the 1980's, but the rate has since remained stable or even decreased in some cities. The rate of patrol dispatches, however, is still increasing in all of the cities. The daily functions of the German police consist of various types of traffic accidents, events, and offenses. Patrol dispatches for supposed or actual criminal offenses are exceptional. Calls to intervene in brawls and quarrels are frequent, as are requests for diverse kinds of help. Another study involved interviews with a sample of 431 police officers to determine their self-assessment of police functions. The study found that the public has a better opinion of police officers and their work than the police officers themselves. There is evidence that police do not have the skills nor the knowledge to deal with some of the noncriminal emergency situations for which they are called. This may be why the number of noncriminal emergency calls to the police has stabilized or decreased. 17 references