Michael Schemke has taken up his new post as Inspector of Police. Since then, he has been at the head of the approximately 30,000 uniformed police officers in the state. Externally, he is active for the NRW police in various national committees. The 58-year-old Schemke is a team player.

The "Streife" editorial team spoke to him about his priorities in his new office.

Streife: Mr Schemke, how are things going for the police in NRW at the moment?

Schemke: I feel that the atmosphere in the NRW police force is extremely collegial at the moment. That suits me: I am a police officer with heart and soul and free from any kind of divisional thinking.

Streife: Despite all the collegiality, the police are hierarchically structured. This must inevitably lead to conflicts - how do you deal with them?

Schemke: Conflicts are normal and should be approached with an open mind. They move an organization forward.

Streife: In our agitated society, many people just want to push through their own opinions...

Schemke: That's not helpful. It's important to remain open to the other person's arguments and that mutual respect doesn't suffer as a result of a conflict. You're not always the smartest person in the room. Others have an unbiased view or argue from a different position. Taking this position on board and accepting it is a basic prerequisite for success.

Streife: You're not new to the Ministry's police department - you were already head of the unit for day-to-day operations here. What specifically did you deal with there?

Schemke: The subject area is of course very broad, but we have placed a particular focus on equipment. Here in NRW, we have the most modern protective helmet worn by the police in Germany. And we have introduced the external carrying cover. The NRW police force has also purchased two new types of service vehicle to make the work of police officers easier. We were involved in these procurements from an operational perspective.

Streife: With many innovations in the past - remember the purchase of the BMW 3 Series as a company car - police officers were more skeptical than enthusiastic...

Schemke: That has changed significantly. There is now a very high level of acceptance because we have involved the rank and file with all their knowledge in all innovations.

Streife: The modernization of equipment must continue, especially because the topic of digitalization is changing our society massively.

Schemke: In the meantime, we have positioned ourselves well when it comes to digitalization. Let me give you three examples: A project in Mönchengladbach is working on locating emergency vehicles using GPS. This tracking is primarily for safety purposes. If a colleague is in distress outside, it is important to know their location, even if they can no longer make themselves known. At the same time, the "Sentinel" project for the use of open source intelligence for police work is currently running in Dortmund. When colleagues drive to a scene, it's good to know what to expect. The attack dog behind the door, for which you are prepared, is only half as dangerous. A third example of the importance of digitalization is accident investigation: a modern car is a complex digital entity that contains many tracks. Today, the officer recording an accident is a highly specialized person who must be able to do forensics in detail.

Streife: In addition to questions of technology and equipment, the police must always respond to current issues of internal security. Most recently, your work has focused on developing and implementing a strategy to combat clan crime. Will the "zero tolerance line" and the "strategy of a thousand pinpricks" against members of criminal clans in North Rhine-Westphalia remain in place?

Schemke: Absolutely, because this strategy has proven to be successful. Strategically, this means that we have to row in the same boat as our fellow campaigners for security. The local authorities play a very important role here. Customs, the tax authorities and the federal police also have a role to play. We can only be effective if we are well networked. Incidentally, this applies to the entire security sector: identify those who can help you and work together with them.

Streife: Right-wing extremism is increasingly leading to acts of violence. This is also a major challenge for the police, not only in North Rhine-Westphalia...

Schemke: The assassination of Kassel District President Walter Lübcke, the attack on the synagogue in Halle and most recently the attack in Hanau have highlighted the potential threat posed by right-wing terrorism. Above all, radicalization tendencies on the Internet play a major role here. As the police, we must therefore be prepared for such developments in terms of investigations and we must ensure that those who need protection actually receive it. However, the current cases of increasing threats to public officials, including more and more local politicians, also point to dangerous developments in society as a whole. As citizens, we are all called upon to stand up for a civilized and democratic society.

Streife: How do you intend to manage this with the police officers currently available in NRW?

Schemke: We have set high standards with the annual recruitment rate of 2,500 officers in the state. We also need to manage to get police officers out of administrative tasks and into operational tasks. I am therefore delighted that we are able to recruit 500 police officers each year to take on administrative tasks. After all, well-trained police officers want to do police work first and foremost. We must also make good use of the available personnel resources so that we do not run the risk of not serving important areas of activity. I would particularly like to thank the riot police, who sometimes go to their utmost to be able to cope with operations.

Streife: Can you briefly and concisely summarize what is most important to you in your work as Inspector of Police? We have to recognize what tasks are coming our way and keep prioritizing them. And we need to work together as colleagues across divisions, for example with our colleagues in the criminal investigation department. Anyone who doesn't recognize that our strength lies in teamwork and who doesn't make use of the intelligence and experience of others is at a loss. That's what the police are all about: Dialogue, transparency, participation at all levels.

Michael Schemke:

Private:

• He comes from Krefeld, where he still lives today, is married and has two sons, enjoys traveling, for example in southern Africa or Scandinavia,
• likes motorcycling and is a passionate photographer.

Professionally:

• Has been a police officer since 1977, initially a patrol officer in Krefeld,
• watch commander and duty group leader in Krefeld,
• head of the command post in the Mitte police station in Düsseldorf, then "second man" in the special units in Cologne,
• Head of the advisory group for the most serious violent crimes of the LZPD NRW,
• Head of the special units and the permanent staff in Essen,
• Head of the emergency response/deployment directorate in Krefeld,
• Advisor, later head of department 412 (daily deployment) in the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia.