海角大神

Defund the police? Europeans redirect them.

Marc-Oliver doesn鈥檛 carry a gun. Instead he relies on a baton, his wits, and years of training.

One of Germany鈥檚 ubiquitous officers of the ordnungsamt, or office of public order, Marc-Oliver says he has prevented a suicide with 鈥渕y bare hands.鈥� Another time, he disarmed a man wielding a knife by talking to him calmly, while his partner sidled in with pepper spray.

鈥淪ometimes, it would be better to have a weapon,鈥� says Marc-Oliver, using a pseudonym since he is not authorized to speak publicly. 鈥淚 am scared on the job sometimes,聽but fear makes you careful. It makes you rational.鈥�

Meet Germany鈥檚 municipal guardians of public safety, responsible for duties ranging from noise and crowd control to animal welfare and help for homeless people. They don鈥檛 organize drug busts or investigations, which are left to the criminal police; in most of Germany鈥檚 16 states the ordnungsamt聽do not carry lethal weapons.

The ordnungsamt are a product of Germany鈥檚 particular history, but they also illustrate a policing trend across Europe 鈥� to work closely with specialized agencies that are better suited to cope with social or mental problems, and to hand off some duties to them. In the Swedish capital, Stockholm, for example, mental health emergencies are dealt with by a specially trained mobile psychiatric team.

鈥淧olice are the strongest executors of force, but they are only one part of the solution,鈥� says Uwe Marquardt, a German police officer and vice president of the German Police University. 鈥淚n Germany, social problems are solved on many other levels. Social assistance and security: If someone is happy in society and doesn鈥檛 worry about putting food on the table, they don鈥檛 need the police.鈥�

From representing oppression to representing civilians

The shift from the Gestapo, Hitler鈥檚 notorious militarized police force, to a service 鈥渢hat鈥檚 there for civilians鈥� took decades, says Thilo Cablitz, spokesman for the police chief of Berlin. 鈥淲e had the catastrophic history of the Nazi era, and we had to learn to change the goal from representing state oppression to representing civilians. This doesn鈥檛 happen overnight.鈥�

Reforms began with a separation of the functions of the police and the military, and parsing out duties now performed by the聽ordnungsamt. Eventually, much of everyday law enforcement was decentralized to the state level.

Recruiting the right 鈥渃haracter鈥� of person is also important, says Mr. Cablitz. When they have been picked, police cadets undergo nearly three years of training, much more than any U.S. police academy provides. The curriculum is steeped in history, communications, and political education, including basic questions like 鈥淲hy do we even have the police force? When can I use force? We are constantly learning,鈥� says Mr. Cablitz.

Protests are one 鈥渓itmus test for police,鈥� says Stefan Schwarz, a 35-year German police veteran and United Nations training officer. As the police try to manage the tension between the democratic right to demonstrate and potential risks to public safety, 鈥渨e use our power to explain the rules, and why citizens have to follow the rules,鈥� says Mr. Schwarz. 鈥淩ather than in America where it鈥檚 鈥榖ecause 鈥� because it鈥檚 the law.鈥欌��

The German police鈥檚 transition to a modern force has not always been a smooth journey. For example, homosexuality was prosecuted as a crime in Germany through the mid-1990s, and while the police acted within the bounds of the law, says Mr. Cablitz, they treated gay people terribly.

鈥淲e went to the community and apologized for those years,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e said, 鈥榃e acted wrongly, we are sorry, and we want to build something together.鈥欌��

Though the German police have a relatively good public image, they are not immune to the problems that have rocked the United States. In Stuttgart last month, hundreds of rioters looted shops and clashed with police after a patrol had searched a young man for drugs. It took police nearly five hours to regain order, in a sign that not all young people view police as friendly helpers.

Attack causes, not symptoms

Elsewhere in Europe, Scotland and the Nordic countries stand out for their adoption of 鈥減roblem-oriented policing,鈥� says Megan O鈥橬eill, a researcher into police behavior at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

This approach grapples with the root causes of crime and tries to find tailored solutions, Dr. O鈥橬eill explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 鈥榣et鈥檚 look at why this area is experiencing a lot of drug dealing and solve the initial problem, rather than attacking symptoms,鈥� she says. 鈥淲ho is involved? Do they need more access to education? Do they need more support for their income? It鈥檚 a longer-term view.鈥�

A recent study of problem-oriented policing projects over the past 30 years by the Campbell Collaboration, an international research network, found they had seen a 34% drop in crime and disorder.

In Finland, where just 7,000 police officers serve the same number of people as do 17,000 officers in Scotland, public sector agencies are especially integrated and collaborative, says Dr. O鈥橬eill. A project called Housing First, for example, brings homeless or drug-addicted people into various treatment programs.

People who buy drugs are not normally arrested and criminalized, but instead encouraged to join support and recovery programs.

鈥淭he idea [is] that someone can鈥檛 fix that kind of lifestyle if they don鈥檛 have a solid base to start from,鈥� says Dr. O鈥橬eill. 鈥淭his whole movement takes policing completely out of it.鈥�

In Sweden, the city of Stockholm has piloted a project that took mental health crises out of the police鈥檚 hands. Instead, such emergencies are dealt with by trained nurses and paramedics in special ambulances. The project has been so successful that the police union called for it to go nationwide.

Putting suicide response and other mental health duties in the hands of trained professionals gives 鈥渢hese patients a better quality of care and relieves the police who can focus on their core mission,鈥� the project鈥檚 founder, Andreas Carlborg, told national broadcaster SVT.

Such an approach could have an impact elsewhere. Senior English officers have said that as many as 40% of calls to the police are mental health-related.

When traditional policing is required, it helps that most British police officers do not carry lethal weapons and are trained on de-escalation strategies, says Dr. O鈥橬eill.

鈥淏eing able to go into a situation without a gun immediately changes the tone, and doesn鈥檛 bring that ultimate threat into an already tense situation,鈥� says Dr. O鈥橬eill. 鈥淧olicing in the United States tends to resort to the use of force more quickly.鈥�

But she has a word of caution for activists in the U.S. promoting the 鈥渄efund the police鈥� movement, who might want to draw on European experiences of collaborative, community-based, problem-oriented policing.

It is expensive 鈥� requiring European-level tax rates and funding for social services. And 鈥渋t鈥檚 important to have a long-term plan, and not a knee-jerk reaction鈥� for reform, she adds. 鈥淒o it carefully and thoughtfully, because these services are so important to everyone鈥檚 daily lives.鈥�

A job that鈥檚 like a chocolate egg

Back in Germany, Marc-Oliver remembers fondly his early days as a public safety officer, even if he did not like his uniform - an 鈥渦gly green jacket鈥� bearing the coat of arms of Langenfeld, his hometown.

Working for nearly two decades in Langenfeld, Marc-Oliver was so recognizable that people would approach him while he was out with his family on weekends. 鈥淭here were only four聽officers working for the town鈥檚 ordnungsamt, and everyone would know me,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檇 tell them, 鈥楥ome to my office for a coffee on Monday, but right now I want to have an ice cream with my daughter. I鈥檓 not working.鈥�

Later, he moved away from his hometown, and found he preferred to not be recognized for the significant powers he carries. He muses, 鈥�Ordnungsamt聽are often seen as lesser than the police, but we have to learn five books and the police learn about two,鈥� he says, showing a little competitive fire.

Most of all, he loves his work. 鈥淵ou put on your uniform and you never know what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥� says Marc-Oliver. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a Kinder Surprise egg. Every day is different.鈥�

Dominique Soguel and Heba Habib contributed research and reporting from Basel, Switzerland; and Stockholm.