A/51/301
English
Page 5
conduct a special re-examination of all criminal cases in the past four
years involving police officers accused of inflicting bodily harm on
persons, using force or detaining them illegally, in order to decide, on
the basis of the same criteria, whether an investigation should be
reopened.
"7. The Prosecutor will make his findings known to the Hamburg police
authorities, with whom he will attempt to determine how to bring about a
radical improvement in the conduct of inquiries in what are commonly known
as ’police cases’.
"8. Moreover, the Ministry of the Interior has taken the necessary
measures to deal more severely with police officers found guilty of crimes,
by reorganizing the competent services and increasing personnel. These
services have been instructed to introduce a preventive early warning
system which should help to anticipate problems in the police and to take
preventive measures.
"9. The training and advanced training of police officers have been
considerably intensified in order to respond to the current situation. The
professional training programme of the Police Training Institute has been
adapted to the changing situation and includes courses on professional
ethics and contemporary political problems; moreover, a number of
programmes are being implemented with the assistance of outside
participants in order to offer advanced training courses to police
officers, particularly those stationed in trouble spots. Budget
allocations for the advanced training courses were increased by
DM 550,000."
Observations on paragraph 68
"(a) The incident in Berlin
"10. Following an altercation with a passenger of Iranian nationality, the
driver of a public transport bus called the police. When the police
arrived on the scene, they maltreated the Iranian national who filed a
complaint.
"11. The fact that the three police officers were sentenced to heavy fines
for maltreatment and insults shows that the police and the courts of Berlin
follow up all accusations brought against public officials, using the
necessary means under the rule of law, that the police and the public
prosecutor conduct their inquiries with all necessary diligence, and that
such acts of violence have met with the appropriate reaction. Moreover,
the convicted police officers must undergo disciplinary proceedings."
"(b) Incidents in Bernau (Brandenburg)
"12. In June 1994, the Prosecutor of Frankfurt an der Oder opened an
investigation against Brandenburg police officers accused of maltreating
Vietnamese nationals. In February 1995, eight police officers were
referred to the Court of Frankfurt an der Oder; in March 1995, two others
/...