Germany\u2019s biggest police union has complained about the dilapidated state of hundreds of police stations across the country and a fleet of aged vehicles, saying conditions are a threat to officers\u2019 health and an insult to their dignity.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecades-old toilet bowls, mould in the offices, vermin, broken heating units and holes in the ceiling that let the rain in,\u201d said Hagen Husgen of the GdP union, citing just a few of the complaints his organisation had received from members.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the conditions our people have to endure there are hazardous to their health,\u201d he told the regional daily M\u00fcnchner Merkur.<\/p>\n
Husgen said police cruisers in Europe\u2019s top economy, which prides itself on its automotive prowess<\/a>, were often so old and beat-up that they were \u201cshameful\u201d and \u201cembarrassing\u201d to officers on their patrols.<\/p>\n \u201cVehicles with torn seats and half a million kilometres [on the odometer], broken gear sticks. When citizens see this, it does not reflect well on the police,\u201d he said, blaming the problem in part on privatisation of police car maintenance.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a job that\u2019s fun when the conditions are right. But when you take a closer look at the circumstances, sometimes I just want to throw my hands up in despair.\u201d<\/p>\n Husgen said the dismal conditions in many police stations were compounding \u201cbig problems\u201d recruiting young officers.<\/p>\n The trade union supplied Merkur with a series of photos <\/a>showing what it said were ramshackle police buildings with gaping holes in the ceiling and a mouse under a desk as well as cars with foam spilling out of the seats.<\/p>\n The GdP said Germany\u2019s 16 federal states needed more support from Berlin to improve conditions for police officers and enable them to carry out their duties.<\/p>\n The German parliament in March approved plans spearheaded by the then chancellor elect, Friedrich Merz, to relax the country\u2019s strict debt brake, allowing an increase in defence spending and creating a \u20ac500bn \u201cspecial fund\u201d or Sonderverm\u00f6gen for the next decade dedicated to infrastructure overhauls<\/a>, including increased financing for the federal police.<\/p>\n The GdP has said this spending will be \u201cfar from sufficient\u201d to address the dramatic shortfalls at the state level and indicated a separate Sonderverm\u00f6gen would be required for domestic security.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Germany, we in the police forces have an investment backlog in the double-digit billion (euro) range for our property alone,\u201d Husgen said.<\/p>\n Asked about the GdP\u2019s complaints, a spokesperson for the federal interior ministry said police matters including police stations and the vehicle fleet \u201care constitutionally within the jurisdiction of the regional states\u201d.<\/p>\n The ministry said the federal government assisted regional police forces in a range of areas including through special programmes for equipment, digital communications and IT infrastructure.<\/p>\n The federal government, whose term is due to run until 2029, has also promised to increase financing for special police forces as part of plans to strengthen the domestic security authorities, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n