Wasserschutzpolizei

The "Wasserschutzpolizei" (WSP - literally translated "Water Protection Police" in German) is the water police that patrols the waterways, lakes and harbours of Germany around the clock. The WSP are part of the "Landespolizei" (State Police).

Germany has about 7,500 km [CIA Factbook-Germany https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html#Comm] of navigable waterways that are responsible for about 30 percent of goods transported. The heavy commercial traffic and increasing recreational boat traffic requires police supervision. In case of shipwrecks, often involving hazardous materials, they are responsible for warning other shipping. The WSP also often performs other duties such as enforcing environmental laws.

These police officers in Navy-like uniforms often have inland or maritime shipping experience and are trained at the German Water Police School ("Wasserschutzpolizeischule") in Hamburg [NRW police page on the Water Police School (in German) http://www1.polizei-nrw.de/wasserschutz/Wir%20stellen%20uns%20vor/Wasserschutzpolizeischule%20Hamburg/article/Wasserschutzpolizeischule_Hamburg.html?02bc695a6dfae99cb7e10206f3a6dab8=l8v8uq5eqa22n8c1k8cdnb0k41] .

Baden-Württemberg

The Baden-Württemberg WSP is decentrally organized and attached to the police departments whose area of operations their stations are located in. Baden-Württemberg Police changed to this structure in 2005. There are eight river police stations in Baden-Württemberg along the Rhine and Neckar rivers and on Lake Constance.

Bavaria

The Bavarian River Police is part of the Bavarian State Police and directly subordinate to the State's Ministry of the Interior. The HQ is in Nuremberg and the force has 10 river police stations along the Main and Danube rivers and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. It also supports 14 police stations that cover the major lakes in Bavaria.

Hesse

The Hesse State Police WSP is part of the state's Police Support Group ("Bereitschaftspolizei"). The river police has six stations along the Rhine, Main, Fulda, Werra and Lahn rivers and one for the Edersee Reservoir.

North Rhine-Westphalia

The North Rhine-Westphalia Police's Water police is centrally organized and patrols over 900 km of waterways. Its headquarters is in Duisburg as part of Duisburg police headquarters [NRW Police about its Water Police (in German) http://www1.polizei-nrw.de/wasserschutz/Wir%20stellen%20uns%20vor/Dienststellen/] and it has stations ("Wasserschutzpolizeiwache") in Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Wesel, Emmerich, Münster, Minden, Bergeshövede, Datteln and Essen. The force has 24 boats and patrols the Rhine, Weser, Ems and Ruhr (as far as Essen) rivers and the North German canals.

Rhineland-Palatinate

The Rhineland-Palatinate River Police is part of the Rheinland-Pfalz State Police and directly subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The HQ is in Mainz and there are 10 river police stations along the Rhine and Moselle rivers in Rhineland-Palatinate.

aarland

Saarland is a small state and has only one river police station which is in Beckingen. It patrols the Saar and Moselle rivers in Saarland and is subordinate to the Saarland Police Support Group ("Bereitschaftspolizei").

Thuringia

Thuringia is the only state in Germany without a river police force. Hence, recent conflicts between Thuringian police forces and left- wing groups in the Hohenfelden Reservoir area are hard to deal with for the Thuringian government.

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