Do you need more watchful eyes?

Police promote security guard - city council not enthusiastic

Created: 05/11/2022, 08:56

By: Sabina Brosch

There is already a security guard in 198 municipalities in Bavaria, including some in the district.

© dpa

While the police are in favor of a security guard in Garching, the city councilors are not enthusiastic.

They don't see the need.

Garching

– Only a few city councilors can imagine a security guard for Garching.

It's just not necessary.

"A security guard has more of a street worker quality and that doesn't belong to the police, but to social work," argued Ulrike Haerendel (SPD).

She cannot see any street crime in Garching that would require a security guard.

"Which problem that doesn't exist for me is supposed to be solved with this," asked her party colleague Joachim Krause.

Daniela Rieth (Greens) doesn't see it as a way of compensating for the shortage of police personnel, "that's up to the government".

An "eye that runs through Garching"

Stefan Schraut, head of the police inspection (PI) Oberschleißheim, had a hard time despite convincing arguments.

“Be there, be approachable, visible and touchable.

It's not about more," says Schraut.

The security guard is not a substitute for the police, but merely an increase in security, an "eye that runs through Garching", as policeman Jürgen Ascherl (CSU) put it.

A constant police presence is not possible, one patrol per shift can circulate freely between the three municipalities of Oberschleißheim and Garching, the rest must be accessible in the department or be called to operations.

A second patrol must be provided at core times, "but the deployment density is increasing," said Schraut.

Even with good recruitment figures for the police service, around 30 percent of each cohort would drop out,

in the years to come, many colleagues retired.

The contact officer assigned to Garching has a variety of tasks, so that "there is no uniformed person to touch and talk to on site," Schraut regretted.

"It's about a mood picture for me"

The security guard could come across this gap.

There are currently 1,276 employees in security guards in 198 communities in Bavaria, 415 of whom are women.

The requirements are the age of majority, a maximum age of 62 years, an impeccable character and a 40-hour training.

Schraut was able to dispel fears that these were “would-be” and “disguised deputy sheriffs”.

All of them are trained and selected by him and are also obliged to undergo further training.

"Most of them are people who are already doing voluntary work in their communities anyway," says Schraut.

From the kindergarten teacher to the bus driver or caregiver, everything is included.

“They are part of the PI, they come and go and they also have a radio.

They have the power to question people, to determine their identity and also, which has never happened before,

Mayor Dietmar Gruchmann (SPD) was able to see positive things in a security guard, such as those already in place in Unterhaching, Haar and Ottobrunn.

“We have a private security service, so that in itself is nothing new.

The honorary watch wouldn't cost us anything." The city council didn't make a decision, "I'm trying to get a picture of the mood here," said Gruchmann and asked the parliamentary groups to now consult internally.

More news from Garching and the district of Munich can be found here.