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Police training in Aschersleben: Fight against dropout rates!
Saxony-Anhalt police are looking for new recruits: high dropout rates and personnel requirements require training reforms and new strategies.
Police training in Aschersleben: Fight against dropout rates!
Recruiting young people for the police is not an easy undertaking. Demographic change is having an impact and the number of suitable applicants is continually falling. Especially in Saxony-Anhalt, where the police in Aschersleben have stopped relying only on the tried and tested. Instead, the door is opened to anyone who successfully completes the training. Here, everyone who passes the exam is accepted into the state police force, which is a refreshing perspective for many aspiring police officers. Nevertheless, the challenge is great: In Germany, several federal states have already recorded a decreasing number of applicants since 2019, such as Time reported.
Once again it is clear that around three quarters of young people successfully complete police training. However, Eycke Körner, the head of the police union, criticizes the high dropout rate: “That has to change!” he demands and pushes for reforms in the training system. Between 200 and 300 police officers retire every year, leaving a gap that urgently needs to be filled. The police must become more attractive to young people, which is also what they do RND and other media confirm.
The background of the problem
There are many reasons for the lack of suitable applicants. In addition to demographic change, aspects such as social discontent towards the police, which is propagated on social media, also play a role. Jochen Kopelke, the federal chairman of the GdP, speaks of a worrying development here. The additional problem: slow digitalization and differences in salaries between police authorities mean that many applicants are deterred from considering joining the police.
As the MDR reports, the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior found that around 60 training positions remained unfilled in 2022. In Baden-Württemberg, a response has already been made and the minimum height for applicants has been reduced to 1.50 meters, while in Schleswig-Holstein the maximum age has been raised to 42 years. A step intended to show that more people can have a chance of getting a place in police training courses.
New ways in training
In order to increase the attractiveness, alternative solutions are also being sought in other federal states. In Hesse, applicants with an intermediate level of education and a grade average of 2.5 are now allowed to study. The trend is also to give people without a high school diploma the opportunity to train in the police service. In North Rhine-Westphalia, over 11,000 applicants have registered for training in this way, which is seen as an encouraging sign.
The intellectual tailwind of the Federal Police, which recorded an increase in the number of applicants due to the introduction of online applications in 2019, is providing additional motivation in other areas of the police service to find solutions. However, the situation is becoming increasingly critical, especially for the Berlin police; There are increasing reports that many qualified applicants are already failing the exams. The GdP in Berlin speaks of a dramatic decline in qualified applicants and appeals to politicians to strengthen trust in the police.
The new trainees and students will be officially welcomed in Aschersleben on September 1st. But the final number of new recruits who will join the state police is currently still unclear. It remains to be seen how the reforms demanded by the GdP will become tangible, but looking at the many unfilled positions could also become a motivation for the future generation of police officers.