Berlin, August 27th, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – The Berlin Police has some 27,000 employees, 18,500 of whom are actual cops. In this capital of 3.9 million inhabitants, they have lots of tasks, including fighting crime, dealing with traffic, protecting protesters, protecting the city from certain violent protesters, as well as protecting the government and parliament.
For all of this, they need new officers all the time. Before applicants get their training at the Police Academy in the city’s Spandau borough, they obviously need to pass a test. According to Berlin’s Police Chief Barbara Slowik Meisel, there is no lack of applicants. The issue is elsewhere: “We are facing really tough competition for suitable candidates, with the emphasis on ‘suitable'”, she just told the RBB.
Last year, the Berlin Police Department (BPD) had around 12,000 applicants, according to the public broadcaster, and more than 1,200 open apprenticeship positions, but only 936 new police officers were hired.
The problem is a lack of German language skills. Many applicants fail the test because their grammar is insufficient or because they screw up on the dictation. Around 40 percent run into issues in this area, in spite of the fact that the BPD gives out material applicants can use to prepare.
What do you do when your entrance requirements are too demanding? You lower the standard. But the Berlin Police don’t because they can’t. “We have to explain our police actions day in and day out”, says Slowik Meisel. “We ourselves and the young recruits must understand the legal basis for our actions and explain it to the public.” On top of that, operations needed to be documented in writing afterwards, she added.
Since communication is an existential part of police work, the Berlin Police Department will just have to keep on trying. The “competition” at the Federal Police, which is responsible for train stations, airports and borders, employs young talents the BPD needs as well. In order to make the job more attractive, the Berlin Police would have to increase the salaries, but that’s more complicated than it sounds.
According to the BPD, those German language issues are not limited to applicants of certain backgrounds or nationalities, meaning even potential officers who could not be more German fail the test.
