In North Rhine-Westphalia, a police officer in training may be refused a probationary civil service contract if he secretly recorded a conversation with a state official.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, a police officer in training may be refused a probationary civil service contract if he secretly records a conversation with a state official and makes contradictory statements as part of a work accident procedure. According to the announcement on Thursday, the state’s higher administrative court in Münster ruled that the state’s acceptance, according to which the applicant lacks the character suitability, is not objectionable. (Ref.: 6 A 383/20)
In 2013, the plaintiff was initially dismissed as a candidate commissioner on allegations of forgery, but was later acquitted of the allegation. In a 2016 settlement, the country committed to giving him the opportunity to continue his education. In August 2017 he was able to complete it. However, the state refused to accept him as a civil servant on probation, with reference to the personal and character unsuitability of the plaintiff.
The judges in Münster now ruled that this was right. By secretly recording a conversation with a state official, he made himself liable to prosecution for violating the confidentiality of the word. In doing so, he had shown that he lacked the necessary willingness to comply with the law. A police officer is expected to give true and reliable information to his employer at all times.
He did not meet this expectation because, when acknowledging an accident at work, he had repeatedly presented the course of the accident in very different ways, it was said. He had not consistently reproduced this truthfully.