German police officers have been taking part in missions since 1989. While in the early years only police officers from the former Federal Border Guard were deployed, the federal states have been participating in international police missions since 1994. From the very beginning, police officers from NRW were deployed and also took on leadership roles from the very first mission. To date, around 1,500 officers have been deployed under the mandates of the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Western European Union.
Typical tasks in the mission areas are:
- Training and further training of the local police,
- Advising on the development of the local police force,
- Monitoring of multinational agreements,
- Strategic advice to the police management level,
- Advice at ministerial level,
- Advice on combating crime and traffic accidents,
- Executive measures.
Police officers from NRW are currently involved in missions in Kosovo, Sudan, Mali, Somalia, Niger, Palestine, Ukraine, Georgia and Afghanistan. Police officers from NRW are working under the Frontex mandate in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain and Bulgaria.
The preparation of police officers has been continuously optimized over the years. It usually takes a year from the initial idea to take part in an international police mission to deployment to the mission. The Foreign Assignments Department of the NRW State Office for Training, Further Education and Personnel Affairs has prepared around 14,500 police officers for their tasks abroad in various training courses.
Important requirements for mission applicants are:
- health suitability to serve in a difficult environment (this point is often underestimated)
- excellent foreign language skills (English or French),
- a minimum period of service of eight years (including training),
- strong communication and teamwork skills.
The selection procedure is carried out at the State Office for Training, Further Training and Personnel Affairs of the NRW Police (LAFP NRW) at the Brühl location, Department of Foreign Assignments. The procedure consists of a language test, a sports test and a structured interview. If medically fit, the two-week English-language basic preparation takes place, followed by one to four weeks of mission-specific preparation for deployment.
The prerequisites for the deployment of police officers from North Rhine-Westphalia are a decision by the mandating body (UN, EU, OSCE), a cabinet decision by the Federal Government and the approval of the participation of the federal states by the Conference of Interior Ministers.
From the very beginning, NRW has played a prominent role in comparison with the other federal states. NRW has consistently provided the largest contingent of personnel among the federal states. Police officers from NRW often perform elementary functions in the missions. The LAFP NRW's Foreign Deployment Department is certified by the United Nations and the EU and is also increasingly preparing international police officers for deployment abroad.
The focus of mission participation has increasingly shifted to Africa, whereas in the early years of international police missions, the focus was still on the Balkans. This also means that the mission language is no longer exclusively English - as in previous decades - but increasingly French.
