''Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK, "Special Task Force") are

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...

s of each of the 16

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

State Police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...

forces. Along with the ''Mobile Einsatzkommando'' (MEK), ''Personenschutzkommando'' (

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

s), and the ''Verhandlungsgruppe'' (negotiation teams in some states), they are part of the police ''Spezialeinheiten'' of each state. Mainly unrecognized by the media and public, the main missions of SEK units are to serve high-risk

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...

s and to deal with barricaded suspects. Hostage sieges, kidnappings, and raids also belong to their missions as well as other scenarios like personal security details for VIPs or witnesses. Since the 1970s, each SEK has handled several thousand deployments. The front-runner is the SEK of the Berlin Police with up to 500 deployments a year, an average of 1.4 deployments a day. The comparable unit of the

German Federal Police The Federal Police (''Bundespolizei'' or BPOL) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, being subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (''Bundesministerium ...

is the

GSG 9 , formerly (), is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police ''(Bundespolizei (Germany), Bundespolizei)''. The state police (''Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the ''Special Deployment Commando, Spezialein ...

History

SEK-Einsatz vom Schlauchboot (10584688934)

In 1974, the first SEK unit was raised in police forces of the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

. After West and East Germany were unified in 1990, some ex-officers of the ''

Diensteinheit IX The ''Diensteinheit IX'' ( en, Service Unit 9) was a special and covert counter-terrorism unit of the German Democratic Republic Volkspolizei. It was not the same as the ''9. Volkspolizei-Kompanie'' (English: ''9th People's Police Company'') since ...

'' in the Volkspolizei were merged into the SEKs after thorough political evaluation procedures, such as with SEK units in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and in Sachsen-Anhalt. The SEK received a name change from ''Sondereinsatzkommando'' to ''Spezialeinsatzkommando'', announced in 2013, because the former is usually associated with ''Sondereinsatzkommando

Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ,"Eichmann"
''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...

'' (SS) tasked with overseeing the deportation of Hungary's Jewish residents. In 2015, the SEK was called in to intervene in Erfurt, Thuringia after a 48-year-old man barricaded himself in his apartment and acted violently towards emergency medical personnel. An SEK operator was wounded during the raid. In 2015, the SEK Cologne has been accused of harassment while performing an initiation ritual on a new member. These charges were later dropped. Meanwhile, Ex-GSG9 commander Ulrich Wegener accused the SEK of being badly disciplined since the officers were not punished. A Reichsbürgerbewegung supporter was confronted by the police in 2016 in Bavaria with the SEK deployed. One operator was shot dead after they were ordered to seize the man's weapons due to him being mentally unfit to handle them.

Organization

The organization of special police forces varies from state to state. Whilst most states have created one SEK which is based in their capital city, others have more than one.

North Rhine-Westphalia Police The North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) State Police Force is the largest of the sixteen German state police forces with 50,000 personnel. Organisation Constabularies NRW has 47 police constabularies. The 18 urban constabularies are headed by a Pres ...

Rheinland-Pfalz State Police The Rhineland-Palatinate State Police is the state police (''Landespolizei'') of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate and numbers ca. 9,000 police officers. The five regional police authorities are headquartered in Koblenz, Trier, Mainz ...

have established SEKs in other major cities as needed. The Bavarian State Police and Hessen State Police both have two SEKs – one each for the north and the south. Most SEKs would have 40 to 70 operators attached, depending on the state. A SEK unit can be attached to the '' Bereitschaftspolizei'' riot police or to big regional police headquarters. However, the common trend is to put the SEK units under control of the '' Landeskriminalamt'' (LKA). Many LKA have special divisions which consist of the SEK, MEK and crisis negotiation teams. The internal organisation of SEKs rests with the units and therefore differs as well. The SEK of South Bavaria has an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

component and the SEK units of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

have elements trained for maritime tasks. Some SEKs also have specialized negotiation groups (''Verhandlungsgruppen'', commonly abbreviated as VGs) for cases like hostage situations or suicide attempts.

Eligibility and training

Any state police officer is eligible to apply for service in a SEK unit, but it is common only to consider applications from officers with at least three years of duty experience. The age limit is mostly between 23 and 35 years, whilst operatives have to leave the entry teams when they reach the age of 42 (or 45 in some states). Both sexes are eligible to apply. At the moment, only the SEK units of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

,The SEK-equivalent unit in Hamburg is also called MEK.

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

, and Southern

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

have women in their ranks. The requirements demand physical and mental strength, discernment, and capacity for teamwork. About 30 percent of all candidates pass the tests. The length of the training necessary to become an operative in a SEK unit differs but is generally five to eight months long and covers a wide range of required skills. Some of their training requires SEK operators to train with other police forces in Europe and North America. All applications made to join the SEK are made online. SEK operators usually get a stipend between 150 and 400 Euros, depending on the state police force where they work in.

Equipment

Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567279434)

While firearms are still issued by the forces, SEK officers can order equipment they feel suit best for the missions. The following weapons are used by SEK: * Glock 17 *

Heckler & Koch VP9 The Heckler & Koch VP9 (known as SFP9 in Europe and Canada) is a polymer-framed semi-automatic striker-fired handgun. The VP designation in the name refers to ''Volkspistole'', which translates to "people's pistol", while SFP stands for "striker- ...

, used by Saxony SEK. *

Heckler & Koch P30 The P30 is a polymer framed semi-automatic handgun by Heckler & Koch, available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W. History Early prototypes of the P30 were referred to as the P3000. The P30 is marketed by the manufacturer as a law enforcement s ...

used by Hesse State Police and Federal Police MFE (covert commando) *

SIG P226 Sig used as a name may refer to: *Sig (given name) *Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River *Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon *Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra sig (lo ...

SIG P228 Sig used as a name may refer to: *Sig (given name) *Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River *Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon *Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra sig (lo ...

* Korth-type revolvers * Heckler & Koch USP pistols are utilized by some states. * Smith & Wesson Model 625, modified to be suppressed for Northrhine-Westphalia SEK operators. * Heckler & Koch MP5 *

Heckler & Koch MP7 The Heckler & Koch MP7 (German: ''Maschinenpistole 7'') is a personal defense weapon chambered for the HK 4.6×30mm armor-piercing cartridge designed by German defence manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It was designed (together with the new cartri ...

* Heckler & Koch UMP * Heckler & Koch G36, used by Brandenburg SEK. * FN SCAR Mk 16 * FN SCAR Mk 17 *

Steyr AUG The Steyr AUG () is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Arms GmbH & Co KG. It was adopted by the Austrian Arm ...

, only used by Bavaria SEK. * Haenel CR223 carbine, only used by Hamburg SEKs/MEKs and Saxony SEKs. *

Heckler & Koch PSG1 The Heckler & Koch PSG1 (''Präzisionsschützengewehr'', German for "precision shooting rifle") is a semi-automatic sniper rifle designed and produced by the German company Heckler & Koch. Development This rifle is said to have been developed i ...

The North Rhine-Westphalia SEK use Ford F-550 pickups modified to use MARS tactical ladders for raids on hard to reach places. The Saxony Police use the RMMV Survivor R and the Toyota Land Cruiser equipped with V8 engines as a first response vehicle. The Brandenburg State Police and the Hamburg State Police use the PMV Survivor I for its SEK units. The SEK of the Bavarian State Police uses the

LAPV Enok The LAPV Enok is a Light Armoured Patrol Vehicle of the Bundeswehr, mostly in use with the German Army. It is a significantly further developed Wolf SSA, based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The LAPV Enok is being manufactured by Armored Car Syst ...

Uniforms

SEK members do not always operate in uniform but do wear masks to protect their identities, as well as to protect their bodies from burns. If cited in a trial they are only referred to by numbers. When off-duty SEK officers are called to a crime scene, they may appear plain-clothed, only wearing their special protective gear and carrying their weapons.

Related units

MEK

''Mobile Einsatzkommandos'' (MEK) operate hand-in-hand with the SEKs. These plain-clothed units specialize in surveillance, quick arrests and mobile hostage sieges. They are used in investigations against organized crime, blackmailers or other serious offenses. MEKs also provide close protection for a state's senior leaders, including the state's minister president or interior minister. Requirements for duty as a MEK officer are similar but partially less strict than the requirements for the SEK.

Images

File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567203075).jpg, File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567177595).jpg, File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567503113).jpg, File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567441553).jpg, File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567174006).jpg, File:SEK Mann auf dem Dach des Hotels Bayrischer Hof in Muenchen.jpg, File:SEKBerlinEinsatz.jpg, File:SEK-Einsatz vom Schlauchboot (10584915235).jpg, File:SEK-Schnellboot (Schlauchboot) (10585073613).jpg, File:Abseilen aus SEK-Hubschrauber (Eurocopter EC 155 Dauphin) (10584850666).jpg,

Notes

References

{{Law enforcement in Germany Police units of Germany Non-military counterterrorist organizations ATLAS Network