The newly elected state chairman of the German Police Union (Gewerkschaft der Polizei), Patrick Schlüter, has advocated for a return to allowing police officers to directly refer parties involved in minor offenses to mediation services, bypassing the formal process of filing a criminal complaint.
In an interview with the “Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” published Friday, Schlüter recalled his experience as a young officer, when referring disputing parties to a mediator was a common practice. “Many cases resolved themselves once emotions cooled or alcohol levels subsided, or when it became clear the matter wasn’t even worth the mediator’s fees” he stated.
Currently, the decision regarding out-of-court mediation rests with the public prosecutor’s office. North Rhine-Westphalia’s police force is therefore required to formally record a report whenever reasonable suspicion of an offense arises. Schlüter argues that reverting to the previous system, which didn’t mandate a report in every instance, would significantly alleviate the workload on police.
He also suggested streamlining the report-taking process itself. “Despite digitalization, completing reports has become increasingly complex in recent years” he explained. Officers are currently required to document extensive details, identify and eliminate numerous possibilities. “We need a significantly simpler and faster process. Simply measuring crime statistically isn’t the same as fighting it; it actually hinders our efforts” Schlüter cautioned.