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POLICE WORLD
Vol 59 No. 4, 2014
Gimborn report
Tom Chisholm, from Birmingham West Midlands branch, reports on the ‘Violence Against the State’ seminar
he attended at the IBZ Gimborn conference centre, Germany.
T
his was my third trip to Gimborn, having
spoken at two previous seminars on the
subjects of Organised Crime and Illegal
Drug use. The ‘Violence against the State’ seminar
attracted attendees from Ireland, Germany, Cyprus,
Sweden and the UK. Its purpose was to identify and
discuss the issues of organised violence directed at
police or the state and the issues faced by police in
dealing with it.
Paul Anderson from Nottinghamshire police was the
first speaker. Paul was able to share his experience
as a policing Commander in a UK city and reflected
on the UK riots of 2011, discussing the policing of
the disorder as it reached Nottinghamshire.
Paul also discussed the daily compromises of
resourcing a large area that required intense
policing to deal with serious violence and gang
crime (Nottingham city centre), and the impact
in removing services from other areas. A final
discussion on the ethics of the use of force by police
challenged officers to consider the potential impact
of using force and how such force can be interpreted
by the public.
The second speaker, Robert Reilly, of Garda
Siochana, provided a fascinating insight into the
history of the IRA, from its emergence in 1913 to its
continued existence today. Robert was able to shine
a light on the various splinter groups and provided
comment on the challenges now faced by the IRA
from organised crime groups within Ireland.
On Wednesday, the delegates attended a lecture
at Dortmund police station where they met Volker
Kraja, a prominent social scientist from the
University of Dortmund.
Volka discussed a wide range of topics, living
up to his reputation as a controversial speaker
by challenging the behaviour of police officers,
presenting an argument that the presence of heavily
armed riot police actually presents a gladiatorial
challenge to crowds and encourages rioting. An
interesting view shared by some of the delegates,
but not those present who work for the tough
German riot police.
The lecture was followed by a tour of Dortmund
police station, led by the Chief Officer of the
operations centre who proudly showed us his newly
acquired major incident control room.
On Thursday, we were joined again by Volker Kraja
who provided another interesting and controversial
lecture on violence committed by the state. Volker
was able to use events in German history to explore
social norms and generate an ethical debate about
the police’s representation of the state.
Our final lecture was provided by Mike Behrens and
Julia Refardt from the Munster state riot police.
The officers provided case studies of violent groups
within Germany, ranging from the far left activist,
the ‘Ultra’ football movement, to far right Nazis and
the sinister ‘Unsterlichen Bautzen’(mask wearing
neo nazi ‘flash mobs’). The officers discussed their
tactics and training and provided footage of public
order situations they had experienced. It was clear
that there are many parallels between German far
left and right groups and those experienced here in
the UK.
On Friday, the delegates were tasked to consider a
range of pre-emptive tactics to prevent violence and
present to the group, where a clear and consistent
theme emerged regarding communication with
groups prior to, and throughout, any demonstrations.
Those who have been on previous seminars will
already know how great the Gimborn experience
is. The seminars are always well planned and
the subjects are always interesting, provided by
informed speakers who are able to provide many
different experiences and view points.
One will always leave Gimborn with many new
friends, and the realisation that we share many
similar experiences and values with colleagues
around the world.
For those who haven’t been, the conference centre
is based within an old Castle situated approximately
30 miles from Cologne, Germany. The hamlet of
Gimborn has a population of about 28 people and
is located in a rural area, surrounded by forest and
open fields.
Accommodation is provided either within the castle
or at two separate annexes nearby, many guests
share a double room, although it is possible to have
a private single room for a small additional fee.
Meals are provided at the nearby ‘Schloss’ Hotel’,
opposite the castle.
Tom Chisholm
,
Birmingham West Midlands branch
Left to right: Sven Shutt, Tom Chisholm and
two German Colleagues - Felix and Stefan
Gimborn Appeal
Gimborn UK Liaison Officer, Sean Hannigan, has
made a direct appeal to any serving UK officer who
can speak particular languages to contact him
with a view to their attending Gimborn seminars,
or even participating as key-note speakers.
The list of languages referred to are: Polish,
Norwegian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Italian,
French and Spanish. Replies can be sent direct to
Sean on
Terms and
Conditions Change
Section UK members can get a refund of the
participation cost once in every three calendar
years (except for single room supplement and
extra nights).
This means those who participated
in 2013 can receive a refund during 2016; if
participation was during 2014 a refund will be due
during 2017. This offer is not available to those
enrolling under the free membership promotion,
although an option to pay the standard enrolment
fee is available. For more information visit:
www.
ipa-uk.org/Gimborn-About
