The Federal Police Commissioner, Uli Grötsch (SPD), maintains that the lack of an adequate error culture within the police remains a significant problem. Speaking to dts Nachrichtenagentur on Wednesday, he described the issue as “a very, very big construction site.” He suggested that traditional German mentality often makes it difficult for institutions to admit fault, stating, “It might not be inherently part of German mentality that an authority figure says, ‘This went suboptimal.'”
Nevertheless, Grötsch emphasized that this type of transparency is what the German public expects. He noted that the Federal Police has increasingly adopted the belief that it is beneficial to actively question one’s own actions when addressing an issue. While this shift is starting to occur in some areas, he stated that it is not yet widespread enough. Grötsch expressed his wish to see a police force in Germany where an open and communicative approach toward citizens is a matter of course. He stressed that no one expects the police to operate with 100 percent perfection around the clock, reminding listeners, “They are always people, and where people act, errors will happen.”
Commenting on the feedback received from the police regarding his critique, the Commissioner pointed out that experiences vary widely. He attributed these differences partly to the leadership culture within various directorates. Where this commitment to a specific type of leadership culture has taken hold-which is the case in many parts of the federal police-the development of a positive and effective error culture is progressing more quickly than elsewhere.
