The freeway police in North Rhine-Westphalia are getting a new outfit. Minister Herbert Reul presented the new jackets and pants for the 1,300 freeway police officers on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, which are made of reflective material and have a signal effect. They are designed to make the officers more visible at night and in bad weather and to make their work safer. "Protection on the highway is almost synonymous with visibility. Those who keep order here do a tough job every day. And we have to make it as safe as possible," said Reul.
The impetus for the new clothing came from a suggestion for improvement from a police officer from the Cologne freeway police. Chief Superintendent Marcel Dargel had noticed that road wardens are easier to see than the police. He sent an email to the Ministry of the Interior. With the participation of active police officers, the new clothing for the freeway workplace was developed in workshops under the direction of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office for Central Police Services (LZPD NRW). The clothing was optimized to ensure better visibility and provide optimum protection against rain. "Most people on the road in North Rhine-Westphalia are not aware of how much you need to keep your senses in check when working on a freeway. In view of the speeding traffic, tenths of a second are crucial here. So any suggestion for more safety is most welcome. The example of the new uniforms is a perfect example of how suggestions from the grassroots and from the field can be implemented. That's exactly what I would like to see," said Reul.
With around 1,300 officers, the North Rhine-Westphalia police ensure greater safety on around 2,200 kilometers of freeways and motorway-like federal roads. The patrol service is on duty around the clock. It records accidents, secures and removes danger spots, monitors traffic and prosecutes criminal offenses and misdemeanors. The police authorities in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Münster and Bielefeld are responsible and have their own "freeway police" traffic inspection unit.
