Student mobility experience – Oranienburg Police Academy summer trip
During the summer I [Aaron Gourley], and 14 other law students, embarked on a short study trip to Oranienburg (a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany). I personally, along with many others, had not previously participated in anything like this and therefore arrived at Glasgow airport at 0400 apprehensive about what lay ahead. Our professor was not due to join us until day 4 of the trip so student leader Scott carried the burden of ensuring we all arrived safely with no member missing the flight. To his credit the journey was uneventful, and we soon arrived in Germany, full of enthusiasm that was only marginally dampened by our lack of sleep the night prior.
Upon arriving at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport, we were warmly greeted by Andreas, a member of the Brandenburg police currently working in international mobility, and Fran, a civilian working in the same role, who would be our guides for the trip. They couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating and the first day was spent taking us shopping for food and allowing us to get settled into the hostel. It is important to mention at this stage that had it not been for the generosity of the Police and in particular Andreas, Fran and the bus driver Detlef, the trip wouldn’t have been the success that it was. Each day was fully packed and to describe the entire trip would take a full week to read. In order to compensate for this, I will try and give a brief overview of the highlights.
On the second day we were given a brief presentation from the vice president of the police training academy, followed by a guided tour of the facilities. After lunch we were given a guided tour of the Sachsenhausen memorial site that was a previous Nazi concentration camp. This was, for me, the most poignant experience of the trip. The depth of knowledge and understanding possessed by our guide Ralf was nothing short of astonishing and made the tour perhaps the most memorable aspect of the trip. On the morning of day three we were taken to the Riot police HQ in Potsdam and were fortunate enough to witness a water cannon demonstration. After lunch we were shown the police control room in use and were able to ask questions and understand the work that takes place behind the scenes to run a police force with this followed by a boat tour.
On Wednesday we were taken to a tactical training facility where we were able to see the facilities in which police a trained for life threatening situations. This was followed by free time in Berlin and although the temperature had now reached the mid/low thirties, there was no time for bathing in the sun but rather we used this for sightseeing, which included a walk that took in highlights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the USA embassy. Thursday’s temperature was equally as hot and we were glad to be inside for a guided tour of the Bundestag that proved to be one of the most interesting experiences on the trip. Friday was our final day and after an interactive forensics class in the morning, we had more free time before gathering as a group for dinner in a restaurant.
The trip overall has been one of the best experiences I have ever had and has led me to making many new friends as well as learning a lot over the course of the week. Should anyone get the opportunity to participate in any opportunity like this, I cannot recommend highly enough that you grab it with both hands.
~ Aaron Gourley
