Press relations

The freedom of the press guaranteed in the German constitution is one of the outstanding features of a democratic constitutional state. It creates the conditions for the formation of will and opinion. For this reason, the state press law obliges authorities to provide representatives of the press with the information they need to fulfill their public duties.

The press work of the Heinsberg police is based on the following objectives and standards, among others, in its daily media work:

• We fulfill our obligation to provide information in accordance with Section 4 of the NRW State Press Act and create the basis for objective reporting in the media
• We inform the public on an ad hoc basis in order to raise awareness or encourage participation
• We convey an objective image of the police to the public
• We clarify the police's legal mandate to the public

Press relations is a special form of public relations work that involves providing or forwarding news and assessments of events or developments in police work to the media.

The range of tasks of press relations therefore includes the

• Production of a daily police report for the media and for publication on the Internet
• Processing inquiries from the print media, television, radio and online services
• Providing information and statements on current events, including in front of a microphone and camera
• On-site press work for major operations and outstanding events
• Preparation of press conferences for periodic or current events
• Establishing contacts between journalists and the specialist departments - to arrange interviews or background information
• Evaluation of print and electronic media
• Ensuring the exchange of information and cooperation with other departments, in particular police press offices and press offices of other authorities (for example: public prosecutor's office and fire department)
   

Public relations

Public relations work is the general external presentation of police activities, regardless of the occasion. The aim of public relations work is to make police activities transparent and understandable. This is done in a variety of ways, for example via the website or by providing information materials such as brochures, flyers and posters, but also by organizing public events.

In addition to external public relations work, the department is also responsible for ensuring internal police communication. This is done, for example, by informing and presenting official developments via the internal police intranet, which is available to all police employees.

Police public relations work at the Heinsberg police mainly includes

• Representation of the authority
• Organizational support for police topics as authority projects and support for preventive and directive actions
• Internal public relations work by providing information to staff
• Administrative responsibility for the intranet pages and websites
• Coordination of support for visitor groups
• Advice and support for media productions
• Support and participation in nationwide police press and public relations campaigns and events