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It is bustling with the city police of Bülach. In the past seven months, seven police officers have resigned, representing a third of the workforce. The officers fled to smaller police forces, took jobs in other cantons, relinquished their ranks and even accepted lower wages – all to leave Bülach behind.
In recent weeks, SonntagsBlick spoke to three active police officers about the abuses. There is a climate of fear, intimidation and toxic leadership. They put it this way: “I don’t know if the people would still trust us if they knew what was going on with us.”
Another says, “You’re driving the corps to the wall.”
The insiders wish to remain anonymous as they are subject to professional secrecy and are not authorized to discuss internal affairs. All statements are supported by multiple sources or supported by documents. The city police of Bülach is responsible for nine municipalities and ensures the safety of nearly 60,000 inhabitants.
The problem, everyone agrees, is the police chief. The allegations are serious:
distrust of employees
If there are conflicts with civilians, the police chief always blames the employees. “You’re not even being listened to,” says one. For example, the boss shouted and reprimanded a police officer in front of the whole team in the lounge because a complaint was made after an operation. “It was humiliating.”
inability to criticize
Anyone who raises problems with the police chief must take into account consequences, including a personnel law procedure. There are also attempts at intimidation.
character flaws
The chief of police is choleric, feels threatened by everything and everyone and immediately reacts aggressively. Various sources report inappropriate and derogatory remarks about employees.
With this leadership style, the boss created a system in which police officers no longer dared to do their job: “You then drive without control so that you are not seen.” If you just keep working, you should expect to be called into the manager’s office and yelled at.
The rift between the force and the chief constable is now so deep that employees leave the lounge as soon as the supervisor enters. Others wait for him to leave the room for lunch.
The trigger for the wave of layoffs was the resignation of the deputy police chief. He was considered an integrative figure in the force and was a role model to many. One says, “He was the best boss I ever had.” In case of conflicts, he supported his employees, listened to both sides and then found a solution.
In August 2022, the deputy sheriff was immediately released. He had to leave his office in a few hours and couldn’t even say goodbye. The boss gave the employees a muzzle. A letter to the resignation of his former deputy states: “This internal communication should be treated confidentially and should not be communicated externally. This also applies to partner organizations and administration.”
The termination remains incomprehensible to the Corps. In conversations and question and answer sessions it later emerged that there were no criminal grounds for the dismissal. Insiders suspect that the boss felt threatened by his deputy: he had criticized his management style in a conversation a few months before his resignation.
The said police chief has been in charge of the city police since 2015. The city council was convinced that it had appointed in him “a qualified and committed personality”. In an interview with the “Zürcher Unterländer”, the new boss described himself as an “open guy who gets along with almost everyone”. He always strives for “fair solutions”.
Employees surveyed said management problems had worsened with the corona pandemic. “We had to go to the office while he was working at home.” During this time, the boss had completely lost contact with his corps. At least four employees have resigned in 2021. Even then, newcomers or interested parties were warned about the management style of the manager. One of the insiders: “I was told I would regret it.”
It takes a lot for police officers to break their silence. The people SonntagsBlick spoke to are afraid of repression, afraid of not being able to find another job.
Anyone who gives a good hug gets a promotion, anyone who criticizes gets a reprimand: that’s how many police forces still work. In many places, this leads to a culture in which problems are hidden away – sometimes with fatal consequences for employees. One of many examples is the Winterthur City Police. Last year, two long-serving police officers committed suicide there. One of the two was sued after he criticized his superior. The police officer involved was on sick leave and had to learn from the newspaper that he would be transferred. Shortly afterwards he took his own life.
An external investigative report later revealed serious shortcomings in the administrative culture of the city police: criticism of superiors is not tolerated, hierarchy and loyalty are more important than competence; Problems are not addressed, but swept under the rug.
One of the Bülach police officers says: “I used to make the mistake of dealing with management problems.” Then he was told not to even bother with internal functions. “I’ve learned: I prefer to be quiet.” If a victim wants to fight back or seek help, the police union should actually help. “But if you report there, the boss will notice,” says a second. The problems are structural. “We miss an anonymous hotline.”
Anyone who gives a good hug gets a promotion, anyone who criticizes gets a reprimand: that’s how many police forces still work. In many places, this leads to a culture in which problems are hidden away – sometimes with fatal consequences for employees. One of many examples is the Winterthur City Police. Last year, two long-serving police officers committed suicide there. One of the two was sued after he criticized his superior. The police officer involved was on sick leave and had to learn from the newspaper that he would be transferred. Shortly afterwards he took his own life.
An external investigative report later revealed serious flaws in the administrative culture of the city police: criticism of superiors is not tolerated, hierarchy and loyalty are more important than competence; Problems are not addressed, but swept under the rug.
One of the Bülach police officers says: “I used to make the mistake of dealing with management problems.” Then he was told not to even bother with internal functions. “I’ve learned: I prefer to be quiet.” If a victim wants to fight back or seek help, the police union should actually help. “But if you report there, the boss will notice,” says a second. The problems are structural. “We miss an anonymous hotline.”
Everyone says the boss is well connected. He teaches courses at the police academy and, according to Linkedin, is a board member of the Association of Municipal Police Forces in the Canton of Zurich and the Staff Association of the City of Bülach. He is said to have once described himself as “untouchable” to colleagues. One phone call is enough, the informants say, to prevent an unloved employee from finding a job with another corps.
The consequences of the wave of redundancies are serious: an acute staff shortage has led to patrols having to be canceled at the latest at the beginning of this year and some police officers have even been sent on patrol alone – an absolute no-go in terms of security.
Police officers from the counter must now also start patrolling, they say. Employees were advised not to take a holiday. Overtime may not be reduced any more. On Wednesday, the corps participated in a workshop to clarify how to get through the summer with the current stock.
Can the city police still carry out its work in the current state? “I don’t think so, no,” says one.
A few weeks ago, the personnel department of the city of Bülach reported to the municipal secretary that the city police in Bülach needed a striking number of interim referrals and that the fluctuation was unusually high. According to research, responsible municipal councilor Daniel Ammann and department head Roland Engeler have been aware of the situation for at least a few weeks. Nothing has happened so far.
SonntagsBlick confronted the police chief and his superiors with all the allegations. Only department head Roland Engeler gives a summary statement. Recently there have been several rooms of the city police of Bülach. This was for “a wide variety of reasons”. In connection with data and privacy protection, in principle no information is given about personnel law and management issues. Personnel processes are handled according to the provisions of the Municipal Personnel Act.
The deployment of the employees is always adapted to the situation and taking self-protection into account. The order of the city police is carried out “in full” and “at any time”.
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Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
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