The dissatisfaction obviously runs deep. More than half of the participants in a large-scale survey of the Hamburg police would not choose a career in the Hanseatic city's police force again. Four out of five respondents feel that their work and personal commitment are not sufficiently valued. In the end, the employer Police Hamburg received just 2.4 out of five possible stars.
2,420 employees took part in the four-week online survey conducted by the German Police Union (DPolG) and, according to the union, 21.47 percent of the total 11,274 people in the Hamburg police force. The DPolG called on all employees to take part, regardless of status, career or union membership. A good 2,100 of the participants are civil servants, and by far the majority work for the police.
The free answers make it clear where the frustration comes from at least some of the employees. It's about pay and salary, lack of opportunities for advancement, leadership, lack of appreciation and, from the participants' perspective, lack of support from politics. One writes: “Austerity measures are being passed on to staff.” Another complains about the “lack of or very limited opportunities for advancement.”
For the DPolG state chairman Thomas Jungfer, the results are a “clear stop signal” to police and authority management. He sees a clear contradiction between the image that the Hamburg police convey to the outside world and the mood among those surveyed. After successful and high-profile operations, the management and police leadership would regularly praise the employees. “So much for the self-image,” says Jungfer. The survey now “straightens” this picture.
Jungfer connects the results with the dispute over working conditions in the police and the Senate's austerity measures. He refers, among other things, to the planned increase in weekly working hours to 41 hours, no day off and savings in personnel. “Who is still surprised that the mood within the police and among the colleagues who stick their necks out for Hamburg’s safety every day is in the basement?” says Jungfer. He calls on Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) and Police Chief Falk Schnabel to reduce the burden and focus more on the concerns of employees.
At the request of WELT, the interior authority stated that it could not conclusively evaluate the results of the survey. The published documents did not provide any further information on the “scientific-qualitative design of the survey and the collection of data”. At the same time, she emphasizes that the police and the interior authorities take “sentiments from employees very seriously.” There is also regular exchange with the staff council and police unions.
The interior authority counters the criticism by saying that the police force has grown by around 1,000 employees in recent years and at the same time a lot of money has flowed into buildings, vehicles and equipment. The emergency service should be further strengthened, and the Hamburg allowance and the promised increases in police and shift allowances would also be implemented.
As a further signal to employees, the authority refers to the debate about the retirement age: The Court of Auditors recently called for Hamburg police officers to retire at the age of 62 instead of the current age of 60, as is already the case in 14 other federal states. The interior authority makes it clear that such an extension of working life is not currently up for debate.
The opposition, however, sees the Senate under pressure as a result of the survey. The domestic policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, Dennis Gladiator, describes the results as a “clear warning call to the red-green Senate”. The fact that more than half of those surveyed would not choose the Hamburg police again and four out of five complained about a lack of appreciation is an “alarming testimony to the Senate’s leadership and personnel policy.” Additional working hours combined with increasing staff pressure will hardly improve the mood. The Senate must explain “how it wants to regain the lost trust of its own employees”.
AfD parliamentary group leader Dirk Nockemann made a similar statement. He, who himself was Hamburg's Senator for the Interior in 2003 and 2004, speaks of a "devastating vote of no confidence against the red-green Senate" and calls for a change of course towards more relief, support and appreciation for police employees.
