The corona pandemic and the restrictions on public life presented the police with challenges. The Tölz police chief Johannes Kufner draws an interim conclusion in an interview. He talks about new freedom, the concerns of the police and the realization that “we can do it”.
Bad Tölz - Looking back, says Johannes Kufner, everything was nowhere near as bad as feared. The head of the Tölzer Police Inspection and his colleagues did not know this when the Bavarian Infection Protection Act came into force at the end of March due to Corona and the police were suddenly confronted with new tasks and a completely new situation. "It has probably happened to us like many: who has had experience with a pandemic?" Says Kufner.
One concern was that the new tasks would take up the entire time of the inspection, with a very large area of responsibility. But when public life came to a virtual standstill due to the restrictions, so did criminal activity. “There was hardly any shoplifting, hardly any break-ins. Even fraudulent calls were reported significantly less. Maybe the other side was even unsettled, ”says Kufner.
Since there was not much going on on the streets either, the officers rarely had to go to traffic accidents. What was also omitted were traffic education for schoolchildren and the labor-intensive assignments at ice hockey games. This created new free spaces. “The only thing that has increased in my opinion are bike accidents. And unfortunately we had some very difficult ones, ”says the 51-year-old.
Many citizens were unsettled and asked about the inspection
With the new tasks there was also - at least temporarily - additional personnel. "We were able to set up our own corona patrols for retail and catering and generally expand the security and patrol duty," says Kufner. But not only outside - the police officers were suddenly challenged on a new front during the inspection as well. With virtually every restriction that was passed, the number of calls to the inspection increased. Especially at the beginning there were vagueness and ambiguities in the regulations, which led to uncertainty among the citizens. “There was a lot of questions about understanding why you had to wear a mask in public transport, for example, but not initially in long-distance transport. Or it was about whether or not a kiosk, which perhaps sells a newspaper a day and otherwise mainly cigarettes, is allowed to have it open, ”says Kufner. If the police did not have the answer ready, they went to the responsible authorities, for example at the district office. When the ministries then answered the most common questions on their websites, the inspection became quieter - at least in this regard.
Educational work at hiking parking lots
What then came was the evidence of - often only supposed - violations of corona requirements. The fact that the neighbor was simply denounced was relatively rare, says the police chief. “A lot of people complained about the foreign excursion traffic.” Although here, too, one had to explain to the callers again and again that leaving one's own apartment is not prohibited per se. Walking, cycling, jogging, hiking - all of this was allowed at any time. Nevertheless, the officers were on the hiking parking lots, but also on the Blomberg or the Jochberg. "The main thing there was to do educational work, to explain to people that they should avoid each other and keep their distance," says Kufner. But it was also important to stop motorhomes from spending the night at an early stage during the restrictions. “The scene is well networked.” Had it not been taken against this, word would have got around - with the corresponding consequences.
It was also checked that retailers and restaurateurs adhered to the specifications. "Fortunately, I have very sociable colleagues who know how to deal with people," says Kufner, who has been in charge of the inspection since the beginning of the year. For example, a long-serving colleague was responsible for the gastronomy, “who hates nothing more than being cheated on. There wasn't such a fake meal to go with beer served in the back room, ”says Kufner. Ultimately, however, one usually met with understanding anyway, “when we have explained that the point is to avoid chains of infection. And especially in the region there were quite high numbers of infections ”.
Almost 460 corona violations in the area of responsibility
But of course it was not possible without sanctions. There have been almost 460 corona violations in the area of responsibility of the inspection in the past few months. 180 of them took place in Bad Tölz, 80 in Lenggries and 70 in Kochel am See. The last two municipalities are excursion destinations, so there have been a number of violations of exit restrictions there, explains Kufner. Some of my colleagues also got one or the other “well-known problem case because they met up with friends - despite the ban”, says Kufner. “You always meet twice in your life,” says the inspection manager with a wink.
He remembers a few cases. Once, an extended family in Munich who had long been renting a house in the Isarwinkel, but is not registered there, had to be told that they all had to return to their primary residence. “They didn't really understand that.” There were also violations in the restaurant business. A Lenggries company did not adhere to the conditions despite repeated reports. This was followed by two reports of administrative offenses, until there was calm again. Once the officers had to intervene on a BOB train. One passenger refused to check and also yelled that he was infected with Covid-19.
The Kirchsee as a party hotspot?
In addition to these real-life cases, there were also a number of persistent rumors. For example, it was said that a fruit stand operator had to pay a fine of 5,000 euros for not wearing a mask when setting up the stand. In the case of a private birthday party in an inn at the time of the strict restrictions, there was even talk of the host being asked to pay 25,000 euros. Kufner has heard both rumors, none of which are true. And corona parties? “There were sure to be,” says Kufner. “But we mostly only heard about it afterwards.” But keep an eye on the whole thing now. For example, there are concerns that the Kirchsee will develop into a party hotspot. "You have to watch that."
In addition to all tasks and responsibilities, Corona demanded the police on another level. "Behind every police officer there is also a person who is worried about getting infected," says Kufner. There were colleagues who were afraid of getting infected during an operation - especially since initially nobody knew exactly how safe the protective equipment was and how long it would last. Others feared dragging the infection into the inspection from outside. This concern also weighed on Kufner. How long would the inspection remain operational in the event of infection? “The problem is, there is no plan B. If we lock up, who should take over?” Some things have been changed internally. “There are only permanent service groups that have no contact with one another. Every second chair remains free during meetings. ”Meetings have been reduced to a minimum.
The danger of being infected while on duty became very real on July 8th. Officials searched the asylum accommodation on Peter-Freisl-Straße. The next day, one of the residents received a positive corona test result. In the end, a total of 26 people were infected from the accommodation. In the case of the officials, however, all tests were negative.
Kufner: "Citizens have so far behaved very sensibly"
How big is Kufner's concern about a second wave, about new restrictions and the associated police tasks? "We now have at least some experience," says the Tölz police chief. “And we noticed that we could do it.” For example, a corona outbreak in a shared accommodation was always imagined as a “worst-case scenario”. "We did not think that we could implement the quarantine measure in the accommodation so smoothly," says Kufner. From the police point of view, there are probably fewer problems with a second wave - also because the citizens have so far behaved very sensibly, he says. “I would also like to say thank you for that.” But he connects this directly with the appeal not to be too carefree. The danger has not been banned, as the increasing number of infections would also show. Kufner sees with mixed feelings that there could be restrictions again. “In my private life,” he says, “I'm worried about how resilient our social system is.” And if that crumbles, “then we will face completely different demands from the police”. But Kufner is not only worried about the future: "I do have the hope that the whole thing will end well."
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