Independent police commissioner to be appointed
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the position of an independent police commissioner is to be established in the state parliament next year. The parliamentary leaders of the CDU and the Greens announced on Tuesday that the bill would be introduced to parliament at the beginning of 2024. The law should be passed in the first half of the year, said Green Party parliamentary group leader Verena Schäffer. In anticipation of this, the black-green coalition has already created the conditions for the recruitment of up to seven employees with amendments for the 2024 budget.
Schäffer said that the future police commissioner at the state parliament would serve as a point of contact for both citizens and police officers. The position should be "truly independent".
Since 2019, there has already been a state police commissioner, Thorsten Hoffmann, whose position is based in the Ministry of the Interior. However, it makes little sense to have two police commissioners at the same time, said Schäffer. The exact term of office of Hoffmann had not yet been discussed in detail. A transitional period is possible. The aim was to have only one commissioner for NRW.
The CDU and Greens had stipulated the appointment of an independent police commissioner at the state parliament in their coalition agreement. "We stand for a healthy error culture in order to strengthen the police in North Rhine-Westphalia as a whole in this respect," it says. The Greens had prevailed with the establishment of the office.
The establishment of the independent police commissioner role in the North Rhine-Westphalia Parliament is expected to provide a bridge between citizens and police officers, promoting transparency and justice. This new position, intended to start in 2024, aims to operate independently from the state government and the existing police commissioner in the Ministry of Interior.
Source: www.dpa.com
