Whether negotiation talks, arrest scenarios or observations - the police officers of the special units (SE) are on duty when it comes to fending off major threats. On Friday, September 20, 2024, the 50th anniversary was celebrated at the State Office for Police Training, Further Training and Personnel Affairs. Around 350 guests, including executives from the state police forces, the Ministry of the Interior, the higher state authorities and the special units of the North Rhine-Westphalia police, attended the ceremony in Selm. In order to ensure the safety of the forces present, the event was held behind closed doors.
Interior Minister Herbert Reul congratulated: "We look back on half a century in which you, the courageous men and women of the special units, have ensured the security of our country with exceptional commitment and professionalism. You are not only a symbol of security, but also of determination and operational readiness. No matter what the situation, no matter how dicey the situation, you can be relied on."
The special units are ready for action around the clock in order to prevent worse things from happening in the front line in the event of assaults, hostage-takings, attacks or arrests in organized crime. The special units consist of special task forces (SEK), mobile task forces (MEK), negotiation groups (VG) and technical task forces (TEG). There are seven locations with special units in North Rhine-Westphalia. They are docked at the police headquarters in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen, Dortmund, Münster, Bielefeld and at the State Office of Criminal Investigation.
Police Inspector Michael Schemke, who himself worked in the special units for eleven years, emphasizes: "Since they were founded 50 years ago, the special units of North Rhine-Westphalia have dealt with a large number of outstanding incidents, such as the hostage-taking at the Landeszentralbank in Aachen, the attack on emergency services in a high-rise building in Ratingen or - most recently - the arrests in connection with the blasts in Cologne. Essential personal qualities for this job are bravery, justice and intelligence."
During the attack on the Olympic village in the summer of 1972, Palestinian terrorists took Israeli athletes hostage. Seventeen people died in the attack and the subsequent failed rescue operation at Fürstenfeldbruck airbase. Two years later, in the wake of the Munich attack and the presence of RAF terrorism in Germany, the state and federal interior ministers decided to train special units for exceptional situations.
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