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Day, night, afternoon and evening, the 569th U.S. Forces Police Squadron and local Polizei are working together 24/7 to keep you safe. Sometimes we may feel threatened by their presence, but don’t forget that they are there to serve and protect us.
Col. Don “Bits” Bacon, 435th Air Base Wing commander, went out to experience town patrol and view the night life of downtown Kaiserslautern Sept. 5.
“I was able to talk to many of the club owners and managers, and I was able to get a sense for how they treat their patrons and provide adequate security,” said Colonel Bacon. “I wanted to let our German Polizei and American security forces know that I value the joint patrol program.”
Joint patrol began in 2003 due to the increase of U.S. military personnel in the KMC, which naturally led to an increase of incidents downtown.
***image1***“The bond between the German Polizei and U.S. Security Forces is getting stronger from day to day,” said ZP-5 Steffen Becker who has been with the 569th USFPS for six years. “We are here to do the translation part if needed and most of the ZP patrolman know the job well and are experienced with the downtown bar district.”
People working in the pub zone have noticed a difference in behavior since the 569th USFPS joined the Polizei doing town patrol.
“When people come things are calm and they have a good time,” said Dominik Schupp, a bartender on who works weekends in a bar downtown. “If something happens, usually it’s enough for a staff member to break things up.”
But sometimes people who hang out at downtown get all fired up, he said.
“We need security forces and Polizei downtown, it makes people feel safer for some reason,” said Dominik.
The 586th USFPS officers take extreme precautions when patrolling downtown Kaiserslautern.
“People are going to be out having fun, and more than likely that fun will fall down right on top of us,” said Tech. Sgt. Drexell Fausnaugh, 569th USFPS team leader.
“Always evaluate your situation, and keep your head up!”
The patrolmen give military members enough warnings and do their best to get them home safely before taking extreme measures.
“ The first attempt if you come across a military individual who is considering risky behavior is to warn them to leave the walk platz within 30 minutes, the second attempt is to walk them to a cab and put them in the cab with enough money to get home or call Airmen Against Drunk Driving (AADD), the third attempt will be to call patrol,” said Sergeant Fausnaugh.
In 2007, there were a total of 39 incidents, and this year so far a total of 19 incidents, 70 percent were alcohol related. According to Master Sgt. William Crawford, 569th USFPS NCOIC of Operations, we are currently on track to stay under last year’s numbers.
“The night life in Kaiserslautern is very lively and enjoyable,” said Sergeant Crawford. “With a joint police force present, large problems are generally avoided.”
“The old city of Kaiserslautern is secure, everyone can feel safe here and one basic reason for this is the presence of U.S. security forces,” said Herr Thomas Brühl, commissioner of the Polizeidirektion Kaiserslautern since Aug. 2007.
“Kaiserslautern is the only big city in the region and so every Friday and Saturday night a lot of guys and girls enter it in order to have party, and that’s okay.”
