Leading the police union, Jochen Kopelke, is demanding a “new form of severity” against the perpetrators following the recent weekend riots in several German cities. Speaking to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Kopelke emphasized that courts need to issue swift judgments, but that the full range of potential penalties must also be applied. He also suggested that solutions involving social work should be seriously considered.
Kopelke characterized the participants as young “rioting migrants” who hijacked what were otherwise mostly peaceful protests themed “Gen Z regelt.” He stated that these individuals had waited for “their moment” to turn violent against police, engage in rioting, and ransack businesses. According to the police union representative, personality factors-such as boredom, drug and phone addiction, and influencer culture-are what drive these young people to the city in search of adrenaline.
He added that these individuals frequently have multiple criminal offenses and show no respect for the police, calling their actions “a form of rejection of the rule of law.” He noted that the fact that they did not attempt to disguise themselves during their crimes, but rather filmed the events, indicates they have no fear of legal consequences.
Responding to the discussion surrounding federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt’s (CSU) statement that many offenders originated from a “migratory milieu,” Kopelke dismissed the idea as “ridiculous.” He stated that the police are dealing with the results of both a failed integration policy and juvenile policy, regardless of whether the individuals are of third-generation German descent or arrived recently as refugees.
Rather than engaging in theoretical debates, Kopelke called for concrete steps. He proposed that a potential solution involves the police determining the address and nationality of the suspects during the night of the incident. Subsequently, the ministry could discover that, for instance, 20 of these persons hold a toleration status (Duldung) and that these individuals, who may already have a history of criminal offenses, should then be deported.
