Altoona Police Officer Edward Bell grew up in Germany and moved to the U.S. in 2010 to become a police officer. He noticed that law enforcement officers in Wisconsin and in Germany deal with many of the same problems, but with much different approaches. So, he decided to organize an exchange for police officers from German police departments to spend some time in Wisconsin.
"I figured it would be a great opportunity for us to get together … and examine that and look at that and see that there’s different approaches to (policing)," Bell said.
When he brought the idea to his superiors, Bell said his chief and lieutenant were both immediately on board.
"I did not run into a single person that didn't want to be part of this, and that goes as far as the civilians here that have met the officers so far in the community," he said.
The five participating officers from Germany are staying with the families of officers in the area. Bell said the key point of the program is ride-alongs. The officers participated in ride-alongs with seven law enforcement agencies in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties. They’ve also toured correctional and judicial facilities to see how law enforcement work is handled once it advances in the U.S. judicial system.
"We’re just trying to show off as many aspects of our law enforcement culture as we possibly can," Bell said.
The exchange has brought many institutional differences to light. Bell said that in Germany, law enforcement is organized at the state level, whereas in the U.S., it’s organized on a local level.
There are also different perceptions of police in each country. One example Bell had was patrol work. When American police officers stop into a restaurant to eat, the owners are often appreciative of their presence.
"In Germany, it seems like sometimes (the restaurant owners) might say, 'Well, that person's being paid and they’re eating right now,' so the cultural perception of law enforcement is very different on both sides,” he explained.
Another difference between German and Wisconsin police departments is in handling drunken drivers. Bell said there are much larger groups of officers that organize in teams and work to combat drunk driving in Germany. He said it's interesting to see how different the level of training and structure is when you compare the departments.
While in Wisconsin, all of the German police officers were able to participate in a National Night Out event in Eau Claire. These are events where police officers meet with community members to help build trust and camaraderie. The events can include block parties, festivals or cookouts. Bell said the German officers were very interested in the idea and would love to implement it in their own communities.
"There was very positive feedback from them to see how many people come out and try to speak with us and to interact with us there,” he said.
The officer said one thing Wisconsin's officers could learn from the German police officers is how to better react to larger incidents, like riots. He explained that because everything is organized on a larger scale in Germany, the officers are more experienced when it comes to dealing with or deploying for these bigger incidents.
The Star International Police Exchange Program has four members countries: the U.S., Germany, Spain and Switzerland. Bell said the first exchange has been such a big success that he’d like to make it a regular event for the department.
"We are planning on making this an annual event, an annual exchange, and we’d like to grow with that a bit and include some more agencies in the area," he said.
He added that he’d like to include sending Wisconsin police officers abroad.
