Volkspolizei (1985)

The film shows everyday life at Police Station 14 on Brunnenstraße in Berlin’s Mitte district. The station is housed in an old building where extensive construction work is underway at the time of filming. The duty officer of the service collective is a lieutenant who has been a member of the German People’s Police for 14 years. He describes the station’s area of responsibility as follows: At the start of their shift, patrol officers are briefed on the tasks ahead, informed of special considerations for the May Day celebrations and the Day of Liberation on May 8, and then dispatched. The officers can be filmed without hindrance as they make their patrol rounds and respond to calls. On one occasion, they have to go to a young woman who has been kicked in the back by her boyfriend while he was drunk. The boyfriend is taken into custody at the station, and the woman is taken to a hospital. In one building, the officers have to settle a dispute between two tenants over loud music. A woman reports her husband missing because he has not come home. At night, a man who is no longer quite young and is from the surrounding countryside is picked up on the street without money or a place to stay. A lesbian is refused entry by her former girlfriend, and this leads to a commotion. All these cases are everyday occurrences for the police officers. The young punk whom people do not want to see on the streets during the holidays because of his appearance is part of their routine as well. During their breaks, the officers readily talk about where they come from, their career development, and how they joined the police. Everyone takes part, from the lowest-ranking officer to the duty officer and the station chief. At the end of the film, two eighth-grade students from a secondary school on Bergstraße read aloud their résumés and application letters for service in the German People’s Police.