police - Behrens: Police building renovation is a great challenge
For Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens, the condition of police buildings is one of the greatest challenges. "I spend a lot of time in the Police and see in what buildings the employees are housed and have to work in," said the SPD politician to the German Press Agency in Hannover. The large backlog of repairs arose, "because we have not invested enough in the building substance in the last 20 to 30 years."
Many Police Buildings in the state are run-down and structurally unsound. The costs for the necessary construction measures amounted to around 353 million Euro at the end of 2023, as the Finance Ministry in Hannover announced in response to a CDU inquiry in the state parliament some weeks ago. The considerable need for repairs can only be gradually reduced, it was stated. Reasons are the high costs and external influences such as a lack of skilled labor and material shortages.
CDU calls for rental of police buildings
The CDU faction voiced clear criticism at the time. The state government must give up the idea that all sanitations can be achieved in-house, CDU fraction leader Sebastian Lechner had proposed that the land should work with investors and provide more money for rents. "We must get involved in investor- and rental models," he had demanded.
These are proposals that have been worked on for a long time, said Behrens now. She holds under certain conditions also much for investor models, in which the police ultimately appear as tenants. They could be a good instrument to come to improvements quickly. The rent then burdens the police budget. Therefore, every project must be examined very carefully for economic feasibility.
"Really important beginning"
In the budget for this year, the state government has allocated 80 million Euro for the sanitation of all state-owned buildings. An additional 20 million Euro are available specifically for energy sanitation. Furthermore, there are 31 million Euro from a special fund for the Central Police Directorate Lower Saxony and 16 million Euro for the Police Commissioner Peine.
Furthermore, the Minister said: "We have now set additional funds for building maintenance in the budget plan we have submitted. The focus here will be on Police and Justice. That is a really important beginning."
- Daniela Behrens, the SPD Interior Minister of Lower Saxony, expressed her concerns about the condition of police buildings, stating that she spends a significant amount of time in police stations and sees the subpar living and working conditions of the employees.
- The Finance Ministry in Hannover announced that the costs for necessary construction measures in police buildings had reached around 353 million Euro by the end of 2023, attributing the high need for repairs to factors like high costs and external influences such as a lack of skilled labor and material shortages.
- In response to this situation, the CDU faction suggested that the state government should explore investor- and rental models, with CDU fraction leader Sebastian Lechner urging the government to work with investors and provide more funding for rents to alleviate the situation.
- Minister Behrens acknowledged these proposals and expressed her support for investor models, provided certain conditions are met, as these could potentially help improve the situation quickly, with the cost being charged to the police budget.
- As part of the state budget for this year, 80 million Euro have been allocated for the maintenance of all state-owned buildings, with a focus on police and justice buildings, according to Minister Behrens, marking a significant step towards addressing the long-standing issues with police buildings in Lower Saxony.
