Recovery of Character Suitability
November 13, 2009 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
My question:
Is it possible to regain the suitability for the police service?
Two years ago, I was scheduled for training with the Berlin police. However, I got involved in a fight out of stupidity, in which I only defended myself. The case was dropped with conditions and insignificance. Now the hiring authority tells me that due to this act of violence, I am not suitable character-wise. Does this unsuitability expire at some point if one does not commit any further offenses, or is it then a matter of interpretation by the authority?
Thank you in advance for your response.
Dear inquirer,
Thank you very much for your inquiry!
Taking into account your information, I would like to answer the question you have asked summarily as follows:
Based on the facts you have described, you were only in a situation of self-defense, so in my opinion, the decision to discontinue the case under § 153 a of the Code of Criminal Procedure with conditions was not the correct decision.
According to the facts you have described, you acted in self-defense under § 32 of the Criminal Code, so an acquittal should have been the outcome. You could have filed an appeal against the decision under § 153 a of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but based on your description, it seems that the deadline for this has long passed, making this decision currently not subject to appeal.
There is no statutory limitation period regarding the regaining of character suitability. When admitting/hiring a police recruit, the competent recruiting authority must exercise its discretion to decide whether, among other things, there is character suitability for police service.
Of course, the time that has passed since the incident will also play a role. The decision to discontinue the case under § 153 a of the Code of Criminal Procedure indicates that a crime has been committed, but the guilt is considered low. The case you have described is borderline.
However, the decision of the authority does not appear to be flawed at this point. It must be accepted that the authority has a certain discretion, which it must not exceed.
Several years after the decision, it will not be possible to use it to deny you the position of police recruit. Unfortunately, there are no statutory limitation periods in this regard, and individual case assessment is always required.
To make a final assessment, it would be necessary to know the entire situation, especially the written statements from the recruiting authority.
Therefore, I recommend you to consult a colleague experienced in administrative law/public servant law to finally clarify the situation and possibly represent your legal interests.
I hope that my explanations have helped you. You can of course contact me via the follow-up option on this portal or through my email address.
I would like to point out the following: The legal advice I have given is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive review of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I wish you a pleasant Friday afternoon and a great weekend!
Best regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax.0471/57774
