"If you are looking for a varied, attractive and crisis-proof profession, the police are just the thing for you. Our Bachelor's degree course is a modern vocational training course with a high practical component that also strengthens social and communication skills," emphasizes Michael Frücht, Director of the LAFP NRW. Just my cup of tea!
Anyone who wants to join the team and the dual study program to become a police commissioner can apply all year round online on the pages of the applicant portal. Further information can be found at genau-mein-fall.de.
Procedure of the dual study program
The course is divided into modules rather than semesters. Three educational institutions work closely together to prepare future police officers for their demanding professional activities. This includes carrying out duties in security and crime investigation as well as road safety work and special operations. The University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration NRW (HSPV NRW) teaches the theoretical content.
The NRW State Office for Police Training, Further Training and Personnel Matters (LAFP NRW) prepares trainees in training modules for the subsequent internships in the police authorities of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The associated sequence of theory-training-practice can be found throughout the entire course and gives students a holistic view of their future professional activities.
A total of 80 weeks are available for theoretical studies, 50 weeks for the training modules (25 weeks per semester) and 32 weeks for the practical modules. Regular surveys of students and members of the three educational institutions are carried out during the Bachelor's degree course. As part of a reform process starting with the 2016 intake, the insights gained from this were implemented to ensure a realistic and practice-oriented education.
2,560 students - more than ever before
From the 2020 recruitment year, 2,560 trainee commissioners will be recruited each year to complete their training modules at LAFP NRW. This poses a major challenge for all those responsible. As a result, a separate Bachelor's training department was set up at LAFP NRW in 2017. The students from a total of 10 recruitment and training authorities are assigned to the three training departments in Selm (Westphalia), Brühl (Rhineland) or Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock (East Westphalia).
In 330 courses with up to 14 students, the action- and behavior-oriented training courses are carried out in the police task areas. Around 430 teachers, who are specially trained in didactics and methodology, support and encourage students on their way to acquiring a high level of professional, practical, communicative and social skills.
Since high-quality training includes teaching values and ethical principles of police work in addition to the police training mandate, there are instructors responsible for the courses at LAFP NRW. They are available to students as permanent contacts and have a significant influence on their police socialization.Realistic training
The training modules in the LAFP NRW are designed in such a way that they increase in complexity over the course of the three years of study.
The students train for incidents such as "helpless person" or civil law disputes, until they later deal with the management of incidents involving assaults and hostage-takings.
Based on real-life situations, they are trained in practice situations ranging from securing evidence in burglary and assault offenses to cases of sexual or politically motivated violence. The punishment of traffic violations is also trained, as is the recording of traffic accidents in the event of serious accidents with, for example, fatalities and injuries.
Practical professional skills and physical fitness are also part of professional police work. These are taught in the sub-modules of the "practical professional training" such as shooting/non-shooting, sport/rescue swimming, intervention techniques, driving and safety training and operational basics (first aid, operational training, behavior at the fire scene/fire extinguishing).
However, the aim of the training courses held at LAFP NRW is not just to consolidate and implement theoretical knowledge. Rather, the students are taught to act as flexibly as possible in situations of their future professional life and to evaluate them from a tactical and police law perspective.
This is because they will only be able to take police measures based on the generally applicable principles of constitutional, professional and citizen-oriented police work on the basis of the knowledge gained. The students are thus prepared in the best possible way for their first official assignment.After the dual study program
After a total of three years studying for a bachelor's degree at the NRW University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration (HSPV NRW), practical training at the State Office for Training, Further Education and Personnel Affairs (LAFP NRW) and practical assignments in the state's district police authorities, all new police officers initially work on patrol duty for a year. In authorities with riot police, this is followed by two years in a task force. After this, the junior police officers return to patrol duty or specialize. For example, as an investigator in a criminal investigation department, as a pilot in the aviation squadron, as a member of a special operations unit, as a motorcycle police officer or as a service dog handler and much more.