Saarland State Police (German: ''Landespolizei Saarland)'' is the

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 ...

force of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state of

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

. It is subordinated to the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

Ministry of the Interior, Urban Development and Sports.

Responsibilities

The Police in Saarland are responsible for averting dangers to Public Order and Safety, and to aid and notify Authorities tasked with Public Safety if necessary, as well as to determine and investigate

misdemeanors A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

. Part of averting dangers to Public Safety is responding to Emergencies. Furthermore, the Police must investigate Crime according to § 163 StPO.

Equipment

Saarland uses post-2020

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of Sport utility vehicle, SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first five-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer, was introduced as a replacement for the three-door Ford Bronco II ...

s as patrol vehicles. The

Police have been using a blue uniform since 2014, which is shared with

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

and

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

. Saar Police officers have been equipped with Bodycams since 2015 and carry

Tasers Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the targe ...

since 2020. The

Heckler & Koch P9S The HK P9 is a semi-automatic pistol from Heckler & Koch in 9×19mm Parabellum, .45 ACP, and 7.65×21mm Parabellum and the first to use a variation of Heckler and Koch, H&K's Blowback (arms)#Roller-delayed, roller delayed blowback system in a pis ...

pistol became the standard sidearm of the Saar Police in the 1970s. They were replaced with

Heckler & Koch P10 The Heckler & Koch USP (''Universelle Selbstladepistole'' or "universal self-loading pistol") is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns. History Design work on a ...

in 1998, and Heckler & Koch SFP9 in 2024.

Organisation

Landespolizeipräsidium

As per the ''Verwaltungsvorschrift über Organisation und Aufgaben des Landespolizeipräsidiums'' of 2018 (Directive on the Organisation and Responsibilities of the State Police Presidium), the

State Police is headed by the Landespolizeipräsidium (State Police Presidium). Its head is the current Landespolizeipräsident Norbert Rupp. The Landespolizeipräsidium is divided into four Directorates. Directorate 1 Directorate 1 (German: ''Direktion LPP 1'') is responsible for averting dangers to Public safety and Emergency response.

Traffic Police Traffic police (also known as traffic officers, traffic enforcement units, traffic cops, traffic monitors, or traffic enforcers) are units and Law enforcement agency, agencies who enforce Traffic#Rules of the road, traffic laws and Road traffic ...

, the ''

Bereitschaftspolizei The ''Bereitschaftspolizei'' (literally 'Readiness Police'/On-Call Police (Reserve); effectively riot police), abbreviated BePo, are the support and rapid reaction units of Germany's police forces. They are composed of detachments from the Fe ...

'' (Riot Police), and the ''Wasserschutzpolizei'' (Waterways Police) are part of the Directorate 1, as well as Specialized Units such as the Saar

Spezialeinsatzkommando ''Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK, "Special Task Force") are police tactical units of each of the 16 German Landespolizei, state police forces that specialize in a quick response with SWAT unit tactics to emergencies. Along with the ''Mobiles Einsa ...

(SEK), the Mobiles Einsatzkommando (MEK) and the

Bomb Squad Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

. Directorate 2 Directorate 2 (German: ''Direktion LPP 2'') is responsible for repressive Measures against crime, and houses the

Landeskriminalamt The State Criminal Police Office, or Landeskriminalamt ((LKA) ) in German, is an independent law enforcement agency in all 16 German states that is directly subordinate to the state's ministry of the interior. Missions Investigations LKAs sup ...

''. Directorate 3 Directorate 3 (German: ''Direktion LPP 3'') is responsible for Human resources, education and training, and houses the medical and psychological Service. Directorate 4 Directorate 4 (German: ''Direktion LPP 4'') is responsible for Logistics, Budget and Equipment, and includes the Saar Police Orchestra.

Polizeiinspektionen

The

Police is divided into 12 Police Inspections (German: ''Polizeiinspektionen''). Polizeiinspektion Saarbrücken-Stadt The Polizeiinspektion

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

-Stadt includes one Police Precinct in Alt-Saarbrücken and one in Saarbrücken-Brebach, part of which is a Police Posting in Kleinbittersdorf. Polizeiinspektion Saarbrücken-Burbach The Polizeiinspektion Saarbrücken-Burbach includes a Police Posting in Gersweiler-Klarenthal. Polizeiinspektion Völklingen The Polizeiinspektion

Völklingen Völklingen (; , Moselle Franconian: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken, and directly borders France. The town is known for ...

includes a Police Precinct in Köllertal, part of which are Police Postings in

Heusweiler Heusweiler (; Saarlandic: ''Heiswiller''; older ) is a municipality in the District of Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 13 km north of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ...

and

Riegelsberg Riegelsberg () is a municipality in the District of Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 9 km northwest of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest Lis ...

. An additional Police Posting is situated in

Großrosseln Großrosseln (; , , , in contrast to "Petite-Rosselle, Little Rosselle") is a village and a municipality in the Saarbrücken (district), district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the border with France, approximately 12&nbs ...

. Polizeiinspektion Saarlouis The Polizeiinspektion

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; , ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis (district), Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis is located on the river Saar (river), Saar. ...

includes a Police Precinct in Bous with subordinated Police Postings in

Überherrn Überherrn () is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated along the river Bist on the border with France, approx. southwest of Saarlouis, and west of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ...

Wadgassen Wadgassen is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 6 km southeast of Saarlouis, and 15 km west of Saarbrücken. Religion Between 1135 and 1792 the Premonstratensia ...

, Schwalbach and Ensdorf. Another Police Precinct is located in Dillingen, part of which are Police Postings in

Rehlingen-Siersburg Rehlingen-Siersburg is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 8 km northwest of Saarlouis, and 30 km northwest of Saarbrücken. Geography Location Rehlingen is ...

and Nalbach. There is a further Police Posting in

Wallerfangen Wallerfangen (; , ) is a municipality of Saarlouis district, Saarland, Germany. Located west of Saarlouis and along the French border, it is the seat of the villages of Ittersdorf, Ihn, Leidingen, St. Barbara, Kerlingen, Gisingen, Rammelfangen, ...

. Polizeiinspektion Lebach The Polizeiinspektion

Lebach Lebach () is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is approximately northeast of Saarlouis and north of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of ci ...

consist of two Police Postings, in

Saarwellingen Saarwellingen (, ) is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis in Saarland, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and t ...

and

Schmelz Schmelz is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km northeast of Saarlouis, and 25 km northwest of Saarbrücken. The town of Schmelz (which translates to Glaze) is made of s ...

. Polizeiinspektion Nordsaarland The Polizeiinspektion Nordsaarland includes four Police Postings, in

Losheim am See Losheim am See is a municipality in the district Merzig-Wadern, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the southern ridge of the Hunsrück, approximately 10 kilometers northeast of Merzig, and 35 kilometers northwest of Saarbrücken. In 1974 a ...

Weiskirchen Weiskirchen is a municipality in the district Merzig-Wadern, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated in the Hunsrück, approx. 20 km northeast of Merzig, and 25 km southeast of Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in ...

Nohfelden Nohfelden is a municipality in the Sankt Wendel (district), district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately north of Sankt Wendel, and southwest of Idar-Oberstein. It was formed during administrative reform in Januar ...

and

Nonnweiler Nonnweiler () is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. Overview It is situated approximately 20 km northwest of Sankt Wendel, and 30 km southeast of Trier. The village is well known for the " Hillfort of ...

. Polizeiinspektion Merzig The Polizeiinspektion

Merzig Merzig (, , Moselle Franconian language, ''Moselle Franconian:'' ''Meerzisch''/''Miërzësch'') is a town in Saarland, Germany. It is the capital of the district Merzig-Wadern, with about 30,000 inhabitants in 17 municipalities on 108 km². I ...

is made up of three Police Postings, in

Perl Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Though Perl is not officially an acronym, there are various backronyms in use, including "Practical Extraction and Reporting Language". Perl was developed ...

Mettlach Mettlach (; Moselle Franconian: Mettlich) is a municipality in the district Merzig-Wadern, in Saarland, Germany, situated on the river Saar, approximately northwest of Merzig, and south of Trier. The headquarters of Villeroy & Boch are in Mett ...

and Beckingen. Polizeiinspektion St. Wendel The Polizeiinspektion St. Wendel consists of five Police Postings, in

Freisen Freisen is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 12 km northeast of Sankt Wendel, and 20 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein. The public transportation in Freisen/Oberkirchen is th ...

Marpingen Marpingen is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km west of Sankt Wendel, and 25 km north of Saarbrücken. The municipality contains the urban areas Marpingen, Urexweiler ...

Namborn Namborn () is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 7 km north of Sankt Wendel, and 25 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein. It is approximately 40 km northeast of Saarbrücken ...

, Oberthal and

Tholey Tholey () is a municipality in the Sankt Wendel (district), district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately west of Sankt Wendel, and north of Saarbrücken. History Local history The first traces of settlement in t ...

. Polizeiinspektion Neunkirchen The Polizeiinspektion Neunkirchen includes a Police Precinct in Illingen, part of which are Police Postings in

Eppelborn Eppelborn (Saarländisch: ''Ebbelborn'' or ''Ebbelborre'') is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. The municipality encompasses 7 villages: Eppelborn, Wiesbach, Dirmingen, Humes, Habach, Hierscheid, Bubach-Calmeswi ...

Schiffweiler Schiffweiler is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 5 km northwest of Neunkirchen, and 20 km northeast of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ...

and

Merchweiler Merchweiler is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km west of Neunkirchen, and 15 km northeast of Saarbrücken. The municipality of Merchweiler consists of two parts: Mer ...

. Additional Police Postings are located in

Ottweiler Ottweiler () is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Fr ...

and

Spiesen-Elversberg Spiesen-Elversberg is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately southwest of Neunkirchen, and northeast of Saarbrücken. Sport The district of Elversberg has a popular football team, whi ...

. Polizeiinspektion Sulzbach There are three Police Postings which make up the Polizeiinspektion Sulzbach. They are located in

Dudweiler Dudweiler is a borough of Saarbrücken, on the Sulzbach creek. In 977, Dudweiler was first mentioned in official documents of German Emperor Otto II as the location of a chapel (Duodonisvillare). Dudweiler received town privileges on 12 Septembe ...

, Friederichsthal and Quierscheid. Polizeiinspektion Homburg The Polizeiinspektion Homburg includes a Police Precinct in

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz-Kreis, Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and e ...

, part of which are two Police Postings in

Gersheim Gersheim is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. In its southwest it borders the French region Grand Est. Gersheim is located approximately 15 km southwest of Zweibrücken, and 20 km southeast of Saarbrücken. ...

and

Mandelbachtal Mandelbachtal (, ) is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, approx. 15 km southeast of Saarbrücken. Its capital is Ormesheim. Community organization Mandelbachtal is co ...

. Additional Police Postings are located in

Bexbach Bexbach () is a town in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approximatively 6 km east of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken. The Saarländisches Bergbaumuseum (Saarland Minin ...

and

Kirkel Kirkel () is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximatively 8 km southeast of Neunkirchen, Saarland, Neunkirchen, and 20 km east/northeast of Saarbrücken. Overview A rather well-preserved ...

. Polizeiinspektion St. Ingbert There are no additional Police Postings within the Polizeiinspektion

St. Ingbert St. Ingbert (; sometimes spelled in full as Sankt Ingbert; or ''Dimbert'') is a town in the Saarpfalz district in Saarland, Germany with a population of 34,971 (2021). It is situated approximately 10 km north-east of Saarbrücken and 10&nb ...

Ranks

The ranking-system of the

State Police is divided into two levels: ''Gehobener Dienst'', and the command level, ''Höherer Dienst''. Uniformed officers, such as those of the ''

Schutzpolizei The ''Schutzpolizei'' (), or ''Schupo'' () for short, is a uniform-wearing branch of the ''Landespolizei'', the state (''Land'') level police of the states of Germany. ''Schutzpolizei'' literally means security or protection police, but it is ...

'' visibly wear their rank. Officers of the Criminal Investigation Police do not wear Uniforms, thus there are no Insignias designed for them. Within the ranking system, their titles differ from those of the ''

'', as the prefix ''Polizei-'' is changed to ''Kriminal-''. For example: The equivalent to a Polizeioberkommissar would be a Kriminaloberkommissar. Laufbahngruppe 2.1 (gehobener Dienst) Laufbahngruppe 2.2 (höherer Dienst)

Training

Aspiring Police Officers of the Saar State Police bear the title of ''Polizeikommissaranwärter,'' or ''Kriminalkommissaranwärter'' during three years of training. Part of the training is made up by studying at the '' Fachhochschule für Verwaltung des Saarlandes (

University of Applied Sciences A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...

for Public Administration of the Saarland)'' in Göttelborn, where ''Polizeikommissaranwärter'' receive theoretical training through university education. Practical training is provided by a specified time of training-on-the-job at Departments within Saarland. During training, ''Polizeikommissaranwärter'' have to obtain a

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

''.'' After three years of training, the Aspiring Police officers are promoted to the rank of Kriminal- or ''Polizeikommissar.''

History

In 2014, the Saar Police introduced a blue Police Uniform, which is used in

and

as well. Car liveries were subsequently changed to blue as well.

References

{{Authority control Organisations based in Saarland State law enforcement agencies of Germany Saarland