Internal security - the task of the police

The state has the task of ensuring internal security.

Ministry of the Interior of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

The state has the task of ensuring internal security. The police are primarily responsible for this. However, it can only successfully shape internal security if it shares responsibility with politicians, society and citizens. This requires:

a social climate that makes everyone more aware of their responsibility for domestic peace and promotes it more strongly,
an efficient, motivated and well-equipped police force,
a policy that tackles the roots of crime and violence and actively involves not only the police and judiciary, but also school, family, social, economic and labor market policies.

The work of the NRW police is very diverse and is always the focus of public and media attention. Preventing dangers and dealing with major operational situations are police tasks on the water, in the air and on land. In addition, fighting crime and road traffic are two other very extensive areas of responsibility.

Willingness to use violence, a lack of social ties and unemployment are changing society, as is the rapid pace of technological development. The police as an organization are therefore faced with new conflict issues and greater demands on their social and communication skills. It is responding to these developments with well-trained and motivated personnel and modern technical equipment.

The Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia has set priorities for the work of the North Rhine-Westphalian police in the areas of consistently fighting crime, prevention and averting danger, victim protection and victim support.

To this end, 47 district police authorities are developing local concepts for local security. The results of citizen surveys, which supplement the police's tools for developing local security concepts, help here. The actual security needs can thus be determined and incorporated into police work. The police and local authorities also bring together the relevant authorities, associations, clubs and committed citizens in the cities and municipalities. Initiatives such as "public order partnerships for more safety in cities and municipalities" and "crime prevention councils" take this idea of cooperation into account.