German Parliament Police

Last updated
German Parliament Police
Polizei beim Deutschen Bundestag
Bundestagspolizeistern.svg
Common nameParlamentspolizei
AbbreviationPolizei DBT
Agency overview
FormedApril 1950
Preceding agency
  • Hausinspektion der Verwaltung des Deutschen Bundestags (1994)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction Germany
Legal jurisdiction German Parliament
Governing body President of the Bundestag
Constituting instrument
Operational structure
Headquarters Berlin
Website
bundestag.de (German)

Polizei beim Deutschen Bundestag (English: Police at the German Bundestag), also known as Parlamentspolizei or Bundestagspolizei, [1] [2] is a separate police force for the premises of the Bundestag (the German parliament's lower house) in Berlin. The police force acts on behalf of the President of the Bundestag in their capacity as a law enforcement power for these premises. [3]

Contents

History

In April 1950 the Hausinspektion der Verwaltung des Deutschen Bundestags (English: House Inspectorate of the Administration of the German Parliament) was established to ensure the rule of law on the premises of the Bundestag in Bonn. Ranks differed considerably from that of other German police forces of the time. In 1994 it was renamed to its current name and ranks became similar to other police forces.

According to Article 40, 2 of the German constitution only the President of the Bundestag may exercise police powers within the Bundestag's premises. Therefore a special police service independent from the executive power was necessary. The Bundespolizeibeamtengesetz (English: Federal Police Officer Act) is applicable for all law enforcement officers of the Parliament Police.

Duties

The police officers are recruited from state or federal police agencies. Their role includes the vetting of visitors to the Bundestag, and removal of intruders. [1] [2]

Since 2018 they wear a uniform, which is similar to Bundespolizei (Federal Police), but with their own patch, the eagle of the Bundestag, with "Polizei" above it. [4]

Unlike any other police officers, officers of the Parliament Police are not empowered to assist Public Prosecutors in investigating crimes; they require explicit permission of the President of the Bundestag for such a role.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "According to Detlef Lenz, member of the Bundestag police force, the vetting process for visitors to the parliament has also changed over the decades, especially after the rise of the Red Army Faction in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and after ..." (Barnstone 2005, p. 84)
  2. 1 2 "...Ruin der Kleinen Bauern AG Bauernblatt (Ruin for small farmers newsletter). He, along with other intruders, was taken by members of the Bundestag police unit from the gallery to an interrogation room to have his particulars noted." (UK House of Lords 1985, p. 88)
  3. German Bundestag staff 2010, Administration.
  4. "Deutscher Bundestag - Neue Uniformen für die Parlamentspolizei des Deutschen Bundestages".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bundestag</span> Federal parliament of Germany

The Bundestag is the German federal parliament and the lower of two federal chambers, opposed to the upper chamber, the Bundesrat. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people, comparable to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom or the United States House of Representatives. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 as one of the legislative bodies of Germany and thus it is the historical successor to the earlier Reichstag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Bundesrat</span> Legislative body representing the German states

The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level. The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. Its second seat is located in the former West German capital of Bonn.

A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified tradition that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most government functions are guided by constitutional convention rather than by a formal written constitution. In these states, actual distribution of power may be markedly different from those the formal constitutional documents describe. In particular, the formal constitution often confers wide discretionary powers on the head of state that, in practice, are used only on the advice of the head of government, and in some cases not at all.

Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated offices, such as in military rank and civilian law enforcement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of police</span> Title given to an appointed official

A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or sometimes just a chief, while some countries favour other titles such as commissioner or chief constable. A police chief is appointed by and answerable to a state or local government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security police</span> Law enforcement agencies responsible for protecting specific properties

Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutions. Security police are generally considered distinct from security guards as security police personnel typically hold some level of law enforcement authority. The exact powers held by security police vary widely between jurisdictions. Examples of these types of agencies include the U.S. FBI Police, the Indian Central Industrial Security Force, and the British Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

<i>Ordnungspolizei</i> Uniformed police force of Nazi Germany (1936–1945)

The Ordnungspolizei, abbreviated Orpo, meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of the central Nazi government. The Orpo was controlled nominally by the Interior Ministry, but its executive functions rested with the leadership of the SS until the end of World War II. Owing to their green uniforms, Orpo were also referred to as Grüne Polizei. The force was first established as a centralised organisation uniting the municipal, city, and rural uniformed police that had been organised on a state-by-state basis.

<i>Landespolizei</i> German state police

Landespolizei is a term used to refer to the state police of any of the states of Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Police (Germany)</span> German federal law enforcement agency

The Federal Police is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, being subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community. The Federal Police is primarily responsible for border protection and railroad and aviation/air security. In addition, the agency is responsible, among other tasks, for the protection of federal constitutional bodies. It provides the federal alert police and GSG 9 special police unit, which can also be used to support the federated states of Germany. Ordinary police forces, meanwhile, are under the administration of the individual German states (Bundesländer) and are known as the Landespolizei. In addition to the Federal Police, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the German Parliament Police exist as further police authorities at the federal level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)</span> German federal investigative police agency

The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany is the federal investigative police agency of Germany, directly subordinated to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. It is headquartered in Wiesbaden, Hesse, and maintains major branch offices in Berlin and Meckenheim near Bonn. It has been headed by Holger Münch since December 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in Germany</span> Overview of law enforcement in Germany

Law enforcement in Germany is constitutionally vested solely with the states, which is one of the main features of the German political system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of the Bundestag</span> Presiding member of the federal parliament of Germany

The president of the Bundestag presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German order of precedence, the office is ranked second after the president and before the chancellor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Rhine-Westphalia Police</span> German state police force

The North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) State Police Force is the largest of the 16 German state police forces with around 50,000 personnel.

The Federal Police is the national and principal law enforcement agency of Austria. The Federal Police was formed in July 2005 as one formal unit of police. In 2005, the Federal Police replaced the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie, which policed most of the country, and the Polizei which policed Austria’s major urban centres such as Vienna, Salzburg and Graz. The Federal Police also serves as Austria’s border control agency. The Federal Police works in partnership with the 19 municipal police agencies and other law enforcement agencies in Austria.

A specialist law enforcement agency is a law enforcement agency which specialises in the types of laws it enforces, or types of activities it undertakes, or geography it enforces laws in, or these in combination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helene Weber</span> German politician and activist (1881–1962)

Helene Weber was a German politician and was known as a women's rights activist. In the Weimar Republic she rose to prominence in the Catholic Centre Party. In 1945 she was among the founders of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In 1948 she was a co-founder of the CDU Women's Task Force, a precursor of the party's Women's Union, which she chaired from 1951 to 1958. Weber is one of four women who, alongside 61 men, drafted Germany's constitution, the Basic Law, in 1948-49. After initial hesitation, she closed ranks with the women delegates of the Social Democratic Party to successfully fight for the inclusion of the sentence "Men and women shall have equal rights" in Article 3 of the Basic Law. She is often cited for her anti-war statement: "The entirely male-run state is the ruin of nations".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburg Police</span> German Landespolizei force for Hamburg

The Hamburg Police is the German Landespolizei force for the city-state of Hamburg. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and state (Land) agencies. A precursor to the agency, the Polizei-Behörde, has existed since 1814.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bremen Police</span> State police force of Bremen, Germany

The Bremen State Police is the state police force of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. It employs around 2,500 officers. The agency is headed by police chief Dirk Fasse; the political head is the Senator for the Interior Ulrich Mäurer.

Member of the German Parliament is the official name given to a deputy in the German Bundestag.

References