Public service Basel security director releases police commander

Stephanie Eymann, Head of the Basel-Stadt Department of Justice and Security, has released the police commander Martin Roth. This is the first personnel-related consequence of an external report published last week, which highlighted shortcomings in the corps, as Eymann said on Friday.

His work will be suspended until a definitive decision on his release has been made. As the commander's appointing authority, the Basel cantonal government agrees with this procedure, as Eymann told the media.

Roth's release is the first decision with regard to the report. Further decisions would follow. Eymann went on to say that she had decided against an interim solution because, according to the report, the basis of trust of the entire police management had been damaged.

The report published last Friday by administrative law expert Markus Schefer from the University of Basel reveals a high level of dissatisfaction among police officers. Many of those surveyed complained about a "culture of fear", a lack of trust in leadership, overwork and the way racist and sexist incidents are dealt with.

According to the Schefer report, the police force is insecure and is confronted with general suspicions of racism and sexism, said Eymann. "It is important that we have zero tolerance in this area - it is not acceptable for individuals to ruin the reputation of the police force," said the Director of Security.

Roth had commissioned a survey of employees to investigate the reasons for the staff shortage. Schefer conducted confidential interviews with 372 people, i.e. around a third of Kapo employees.

SDA