Hamburg Police
The Hamburg Police (German: Hamburger Polizei or Polizei Hamburg) is the German Landespolizei force for the city-state of Hamburg. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and state (Land) agencies. A precursor to the agency, the Polizey-Behörde, has existed since 1814.
The State Minister for the Interior (German: Senator für Inneres) oversees the Hamburg Police, which consists of aviation, water, road and port patrols, and crime investigation. The city of Hamburg is served by police stations (German: Polizeikommissariate) of the Uniformed Police (German: Schutzpolizei). Head of police is Polizeipräsident Ralf Martin Meyer. In 2008 Hamburg Police had 500,335 deployments.
History
Before the police force was established, there was a night watch (German: Wochenwärter, lit. week wardens) and a port patrol. The night watch was a professional force whose duties included calling the hours at night and closing the city gates. In 1671, the watch was reorganised along the lines of the Schutterij in Amsterdam, and in 1770, 284 men operated in 64 districts. In 1787, a force patrolling the port (the German: Hafenpatrouille) was established, though this was merged with the police in 1875.