Due to the ongoing pandemic, only two officers from Germany were able to support their Spanish colleagues in Palma de Mallorca this year. So I was all the more pleased to be able to be there to help the Policia Nacional during this difficult time. Together with a colleague from the Cologne police, I supported my Spanish colleagues from August 1 to August 22, 2020.
This year, everything happened very quickly and the planning had to be organized by the authorities at short notice. Due to the ongoing pandemic, my colleagues from the Guardia Civil were unable to work with the German police this year. That's why I worked with the Policia Nacional this year.
Arrival in Palma de Mallorca
On August 1, 2020, my colleague from Cologne and I were warmly welcomed at Palma de Mallorca Airport. Our colleagues from the Policia Nacional were already waiting for us. After some "small talk", we drove to the Policia Nacional station next door. This is located directly on the beach in Palma. Here we were welcomed and briefed by Inspector Jefe José María. He was very friendly and told us straight away that we would have a special assignment that same evening. More details would be given at the briefing. After the interview, we were taken to our Hotel Riu Concordia.
First night duty begins with raids
In the evening, I was on night duty with my colleagues. There were raids to be carried out at various locations. The local task force (ET), the Policia Nacional and the public order offices were present and part of the raids. A special unit also took part. This was the 1-UIP. It is stationed in Madrid and is on duty in Mallorca during the high season. The aim of the raids was to punish violations of the conditions imposed (with regard to the pandemic).
The raids were a complete success, as all violations were detected. In one or two of the raids, there were also "chance finds" that violated the local Narcotics Act. Most of the cases involved the possession of cocaine. The operation ended at around 5 o'clock.
The following day, we were again picked up from the hotel on time at 6 pm by our permanently assigned colleagues Adrian and Marga. We went to the beach to carry out a foot patrol. We immediately caught the eye of the tourists and the Spanish people. They approached us and wanted to know how the cooperation between the Policia Nacional and the state police from NRW had come about. Naturally, we clarified this for them. We only received positive feedback.
Alarming at night
We were alerted at around 2 a.m. and went to a hotel. The hotelier told us that there had been a physical altercation on the second floor of the hotel. He showed us the relevant rooms. In one room, we immediately noticed that the door had broken out of the door frame. The door could be forced open. Two heavily intoxicated people (man / woman) were found in the room. They were in bed and apparently asleep. The room made a very damaged or neglected impression. There were cigarette butts and empty beer bottles all over the room and the desk was also badly damaged. We woke the two people up and immediately noticed that they were barely able to follow the conversation due to their alcohol consumption. They were Belgian tourists.
The hotelier now told us that the other party was in another room. I went to the room with Marga. There were two German couples there. After being instructed, they stated that they had been outside the hotel. Here they were pelted with empty beer bottles by the very drunk man. Nobody was hit. When they went to their room, they saw the female on the floor of the corridor. Her friend then pulled her into her room. The woman screamed for help. The two males then went to the Belgian tourist's room. As the woman loudly asked for help, they decided to push the door open so that they could help the woman. When they were in the room, they could see that the man was kneeling on the woman and choking her with both hands on her neck. They immediately pushed him off her to prevent him from interfering any further. They succeeded in doing so. The desk was damaged in the process.
The hotelier could only see the intrusion of the two helpers via video surveillance and did not know the exact facts of the case. He therefore initially (wrongly) assumed that the two men had come to blows. The Belgian tourist was provisionally arrested and taken to police custody in Palma. He was brought before a judge the following day.
With this operation on the second day, we realized that it was necessary to send German-speaking officers to Mallorca. Without our help, it would probably not have been possible to clarify the facts of the case due to the language barrier.
On patrol in the old town and at Ballermann
The next day, we walked through the beautiful old town of Palma. Here, too, we were given a warm welcome by the locals. We quickly realized that we were respected but also accepted. Occasionally we had to ask the locals to put on their face masks, as this is mandatory here in Spain. The citizens immediately complied with the requests.
When we went to the main police station, we were asked to translate a police report. A tourist from Switzerland wanted to file a complaint. She told us that she had been beaten by her husband while driving the car. Their two children were also in the car. Our presence was also necessary here, as it would not have been possible to communicate in either Spanish or English.
After successfully assisting our colleagues here, we went to the beach at "Ballermann". Here we carried out identity checks and conducted a foot patrol. We were able to find narcotics on one of the people we checked. As a result, he was provisionally arrested and taken to police custody in Palma.
The following day, I was surprised by my assigned colleagues. After our shift was almost over, they sang me a birthday song. I was delighted and invited my colleagues, who have since become friends, for lunch.
Operational support from the press
On August 7, 2020, we were accompanied by the press (BILD newspaper) with camera and microphone. A case of "domestic violence" occurred right at the start of the shift. It involved Swiss nationals who had emigrated six years ago. The accused was provisionally arrested by us. Our presence was necessary here as neither the accused nor the injured party spoke Spanish.
On August 12, 2020, we carried out another raid. The aim was to arrest an international gang of thieves. It was a Romanian group operating from Palma. The raid was a complete success and we arrested 34 people and seized all the stolen goods.
Just before we left, the press department of the Policia Nacional organized a meeting with the Spanish press. All the press representatives were there to interview us. On Saturday, August 22, 2020, we were picked up and taken to the airport.
Conclusion
My conclusion of the assignment abroad is positive because I was able to help my colleagues as well as German-speaking tourists on site despite the difficult time. One significant difference between the German and Spanish police is the way they assign and perceive missions. On site, one or two offenses were not punished because they were not "responsible". This was new to me and sometimes frustrating. Previously, I knew that if I discovered an infringement or an offense, I could or had to punish it.
I have to praise the authorities. Be it the Ministry of the Interior in Düsseldorf, my police authority in Gelsenkirchen or the ministries in Spain. Despite the short lead time, everything went smoothly. I knew exactly where I was working and where my accommodation was before I set off. This was not the case last year. However, I have to say that it felt like the roster was changed 3729 times on site. But you get used to this on site.
I would like to thank the NRW Ministry of the Interior and, of course, the Gelsenkirchen Police Headquarters for allowing me to greatly expand my wealth of experience despite the pandemic. At the moment, I assume that I will apply again next year. Provided that my Spanish colleagues are looking for colleagues from the NRW state police in 2021.
