Unable to deal with conflict, dependent, work-shy? You can find my new article on this topic in issue 02/2024 of DP (Deutsche Polizei), p. 38-39. Just follow this link and then scroll.
Generation Z in the police force
International compendium on the topic of assembly situations
Our new book "Public Order Policing. A Professional's Guide to International
Theories, Case Studies, and Best Practices" has been published. It again deals with assembly situations and includes various international perspectives, for example from England, the Netherlands, France, the USA and, of course, Germany.
Here you can download the introduction with the abstracts of all chapters download free of charge.
The book is available as a hardcover or ebook directly from Publisher (click here) or also with Amazon. If you order directly from the publisher, you are supporting my work, so I would be delighted.
In tune with the times: Leading by and for Generation Z
Hot off the press in the Hesse Police Magazine: my new article on Generation Z - also available here for download with kind permission. Read/Download:
Integration of Generation Z - a project of the Federal Police
The Federal Police is growing. An unprecedented number of new employees is presenting the Federal Police with major challenges at all levels. The new colleagues are rightly entitled to be trained in a targeted manner and "taken along". A joint project with representatives from all areas of the Federal Police, including staff representatives and equal opportunities, is dedicated to this challenge. But how can new employees be integrated sustainably, especially in the Federal Police? This question forms the core of the "Integration of new employees" project led by PD Dr. Schmelzer. The team of authors outlines the structure and process of the project and presents initial project results on the way to uniform minimum standards throughout the Federal Police. Key topics such as the importance of leadership and cooperation in the context of the induction of new personnel are underpinned and illustrated with the survey results achieved to date. Candidates and career graduates as current and future employees as well as existing employees, the "regular officers", play a central role in this.
The role of the police at assemblies
After two years of work, it's done - my new book has been published. The introduction to the book and an overview of the authors and contents of the chapters can be here (click) can be downloaded free of charge.
Some reviews have already appeared, including one in the Hessische Polizeirundschau, written by Rudi Heimann, Police Vice President of the PP Südhessen. A small excerpt: "The approximately 380 pages compiled by Bernd Bürger are well worth reading for all police practitioners and anyone who deals with the phenomenon of people in gatherings, assemblies or events on a scientific, strategic and tactical level. And I agree with the editor in his assessment that the content in this condensed form and with a high degree of transfer to practice has not yet been the subject of practice-oriented curricula. It is therefore initially up to each responsible manager to educate themselves with this work and to convey the content in an appropriate manner in order to effectively increase their own safety and that of the emergency services entrusted to them."
Hessische Polizeirundschau 4/22, p. 16.
The content:
Assemblies are an important part of democracy and the rule of law. The way a state deals with demonstrators not only has an internal impact, it is also perceived internationally, for example in Myanmar, Belarus, Hong Kong or Russia.
There are often plausible everyday explanations for escalations at gatherings or events where a large number of people come together. However, many of these supposedly deterministic causes, correlations or role attributions have been refuted or overly simplified. This can lead to misinterpretations, negative stereotyping and ultimately to suboptimal decisions. This can have serious consequences, especially in large crowds: The situation can escalate, leading to riots and outright violence.
The aim of this book is to provide an overview of international good practice approaches on how to deal with crowds in a democratic constitutional state. To this end, scientific findings from the fields of sociology, psychology, criminology, ethics and law, among others, are presented in an interdisciplinary manner and illustrated with numerous practical examples.
The book is available here (if you want to support my work, order directly from the publisher and I'll get something):
Or at the local bookseller, who will be delighted.
Generation Z - a challenge for police leadership
A few brief impulses from my almost three-hour lecture on the subject in an interview in the magazine of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, Öffentliche Sicherheit: "They just tick differently"
and also recommendable the related article A challenge for management.
Police work organization and its effects on (in)security in public spaces
Full version - shortened article published by the German Society for Time Policy, Zeitpolitisches Magazin No. 36 July 2020 (ISSN 2196-0356, download here).
"We stand up for people's safety and provide help around the clock."1Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, Leitbild der Bayer. Polizei - Handlungs- und Orientierungsrahmen für die Zukunft, https://www.polizei.bayern.de/wir/leitbild/index.html/3249, accessed on 01.03.2020
This quote from the mission statement of the Bavarian Police undoubtedly applies to all police authorities - they guarantee security in a society around the clock. Although the work is 24/7224/7 stands for 24 hours, 7 days a week, i.e. the provision of work every day at any time. This is not a unique feature of police work, as around one in six employees in Germany works shifts (Radtke 2020), but it is characteristic of police work. In order to understand the (time) organization of police work and its impact on public safety, it is also necessary to understand the effects that shift work, which is necessary to ensure the constant availability of the police, has on people. Even if some police working time organizers do not seem to take this into account, police officers are also human beings and the organization of shift work has a significant influence on their ability to perform and act and thus directly on (in)security in public spaces.
Continue reading „Arbeitsorganisation bei der Polizei und ihre Wirkungen auf (Un)Sicherheit im öffentlichen Raum“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good LifeAs the title suggests, Manson wants his book to stand out from the usual life advice books. Because these usually emphasize what you could or should achieve - higher, faster, further (see, for example, the book "How to achieve more"). Game Changers). The downside, however, is that you are made very aware of what you have not achieved so far. You haven't achieved this or that, you're not exceptional. And the usual (American?) life guides are all aimed at helping you to finally be extraordinary and achieve all your goals.
In his book, Manson shows a different path to personal success. The book is also available in German ("The subtle art of shitting on it“ view at Amazon), but with this book in particular it should be almost impossible to convey the "spirit" of the book correctly in German. While "to give a fuck" is ambiguous in English and the author uses the expression creatively, that alone is difficult in German. Let's see if I have succeeded.
Continue reading „The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck“#Instacops - private Instagram account as a police officer?
Comment of a scientist and police officer.
Published on 24.05.2020 in German Police, 06/20, p. 20 ff
Some of my presentations on Generation Z also deal with the private accounts of police officers on social media if they are recognizable there as a "cop". The handling of these so-called #instacops varies greatly depending on the authority and federal state. In some police forces, for example, photos with uniforms on a private account are subject to disciplinary review, as this photo must supposedly have been taken while on duty.
Continue reading „#Instacops – privater Instagram Account als Polizist*in?“Does THE Generation Z exist? Generations vs. sinus milieus.
Is there actually "DIE" Generation Z? A good question, especially once you have studied the Sinus-Milieus. The Sinus Institute (Sinus Markt- und Sozialforschung GmbH) has specialized in the complex analysis of society for over 40 years. And one thing becomes clear from this analysis: the world in which young people live is also very differentiated (as you would expect).
The Sinus-Milieus
Researchers at the Sinus Institute survey various target groups in so-called life-world explorations with regard to their values, attitudes, life goals, lifestyle and social background, among other things. This data is analyzed and various clusters can be formed. These groups of like-minded people are referred to as milieus. In order to obtain a broader picture, quantitative data is also collected using a standardized questionnaire. In this way, an attempt is made to obtain as realistic a picture as possible of the socio-cultural diversity in the population under investigation, e.g. young people in Germany. Thanks to its many years of work in this field, the Institute can draw on a wealth of historical data and thus also highlight changes (longitudinal studies). The following short video provides a brief but very informative insight into the German milieus.
Continue reading „Gibt es DIE Generation Z? Generationen vs. Sinus-Milieus.“
