Police violence is documented time and time again. Meaningful data are missing – until now. A study shows the extent.
Frankfurt – A man is beaten. First with the fist, then with the palm of the hand. He goes down. A policeman presses his knee on his neck. The man is bleeding from his face. While the police describe him as aggressive, the person concerned speaks of baseless violence. It is a difficult situation for him – until January 2023 restored Video recordings show the case of police violence in Idstein.
However, Idstein is not an isolated case. Cases of excessive police violence are becoming known in Germany again and again. Videos document border crossings on the part of the actual law enforcement officers – such as punches and kicks. Critical voices also complain structural racism in the police force. However, investigations are often not carried out. There are rarely any consequences. It is therefore largely unclear how high the number of unauthorized police violence is.
“Excessive use of force” by police: study provides first insights
The research project “Body Injury in Office by Police Officers” (KviAPol) wants to change that. Since 2018, researchers have been investigating police violence and how it is dealt with under criminal law in Germany. The project, which was funded by the German Research Foundation, was originally based at the Ruhr University in Bochum; since 2022 it has been based at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. Two interim reports in 2019 and 2020 had already caused a stir. Now the team led by Laila Abdul-Rahman, Hannah Espín Grau, Luise Klaus and Tobias Singelnstein is presenting a study.
The researchers understand “excessive use of force” by the police as actions that “exceeded the limits of what is acceptable” from the perspective of those affected, lawyers, the police and other respondents. The research group thus also counts behavior that is not necessarily illegal, but is assessed as such from at least one perspective. The broad definition also enables the investigation of unreported cases, i.e. previously unknown cases of unlawful violence by the police.
Study on police violence reveals a large number of unreported cases
The finding of the investigation: The dark field is many times larger than the bright field of 2790 officially known investigations against officers because of unlawful violence in 2021. Of the 3,300 respondents the researchers spoke to, only 14 percent said criminal proceedings had taken place.
Victims of police violence report the cases in very few cases. According to the researchers, the low chance of success is one reason. According to public prosecutors, only two percent of the cases reported are charged. In contrast, the average for all procedures is 22 percent. Another reason is counter-reports by the police – almost a third of those surveyed stated that they had been reported themselves.
Why are most cases against the police dropped?
According to the experts, the discrepancy cannot only be attributed to unjustified ads. Instead, there are structural peculiarities in these procedures:
- Police officers suspects cannot be identified
- Objective evidence is lacking, so statements stand against each other
- Public prosecutors and the judiciary often rate police officers as particularly credible
- Lack of judiciary equipment
- Prejudices against those affected by police violence, which are assessed as less credible
- Police officers on the witness stand are not neutral
“The state finds it difficult to punish misconduct by its own employees because it lacks a neutral view of its own officials,” the researchers conclude. Added to this is the special power of definition of the police in society. It is the task of the police to clarify situations in a binding manner and to enforce certain norms, interests and interpretations. But even in hindsight, the police have a power of definition.
“For those affected by excessive use of force by the police, for example, a situation arises in which they can hardly get their rights without mechanisms that counteract police dominance,” the researchers explain. There are also high hurdles for the police officers to criticize or report violence by their colleagues.
Criminologist Tobias Singelnstein said he was surprised at how little awareness the police and judiciary had of the problem WDR. As an example, he gives that someone who wants to report police violence can only go to the police. His team is therefore calling for an independent control and complaints office for the police. Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International had also called for this.
Where is police violence most common?
Of the approximately 3,300 victims of excessive police violence, 55 percent said they suffered during demonstrations and other political actions. The second most cases (25 percent) occurred at football games and other major events. 20 percent of the cases were outside of large-scale operations. Most cases occurred in situations where the police were called because of a conflict and during controls.
Who is most affected by police violence?
Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of those surveyed were male, with the proportion of men at football games and major events being particularly high. With 32 percent women and four percent non-binary people, the proportion of non-male victims of police violence at demonstrations and political actions was particularly high. Overall, younger people are affected: the average age was 25.9 years.
16 percent of the respondents had a migration history, the proportion of people of color was 5 percent. They were most often affected by disproportionate violence by the police outside of major events, for example during identity checks and conflicts to which the police were called. The researchers found that marginalized people are particularly affected by police violence.
Those using disproportionate force are predominantly male and under the age of 30. A policewoman was also present in 81 percent of the cases examined in the study, but policewomen carried out the violence in only 27 percent of the cases.
What are the reasons for excessive police violence?
Victims cite questions about the legality of police action, arguments, insults, and disrespect as factors contributing to excessive police violence. The main reasons for the escalation were poor communication, stress, excessive demands, discriminatory behavior and poor operational planning. This also includes worrying about losing control.
According to the study, however, the assessment of the legality of violence in action is not only assessed on the basis of the law. For the police, this also includes aspects of the legitimacy and practicality of the violence. Pragmatic considerations of efficiency and effectiveness could override legal requirements.
According to the study, however, violence is conceived as an “exemption power” in law, which is only permitted within very narrow limits. According to the researchers, the police officers explained in the study that the law guides their actions. Nevertheless, it has been shown that “use of violence is part of everyday police work and is normalized accordingly”. The threshold of what is excessive is relatively high for the police.
However, the research team points out that the study is not representative and therefore cannot be generalized for the German population. (ms)
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