SEK (Germany)

It was in 1972 where the SEK and MEK units were being established, in the aftermath of the Munich Massacre. In 1974, the first SEK unit was raised in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia's police force. After West and East Germany were unified in 1990, some ex-officers of the Diensteinheit IX (DIX) in the Volkspolizei were merged into the SEKs after thorough political evaluation procedures, such as with SEK units in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen-Anhalt. The SEK received a name change from Sondereinsatzkommando to Spezialeinsatzkommando in 2013, because the former is usually associated with Sondereinsatzkommando Eichmann, a unit in the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) tasked with overseeing the deportation of Hungary's Jewish residents. In 2015, the SEK was called in to intervene in Erfurt, Thuringia after a 48-year-old man barricaded himself in his apartment and acted violently towards emergency medical personnel. A SEK operative was wounded during the raid. In 2015, the SEK Cologne was accused of harassment while performing an initiation ritual on a new member. These charges were later dropped. Ex-GSG9 commander Ulrich Wegener accused the SEK of being poorly disciplined since the officers were not punished. A Reichsbürgerbewegung supporter was confronted by the police in 2016 in Bavaria with the SEK deployed. One operative was shot dead after they were ordered to seize the man's weapons due to him being mentally unfit to handle them. On June 10, 2021, Interior Minister for the state of Hesse Peter Beuth announced that its SEK unit in Frankfurt would be disbanded, as some of its operators were reported to be sharing alt-right messages. ==Organization==

The organization of special police forces varies from state to state. Whilst most states have created one SEK which is based in their capital city, others have more than one. The North Rhine-Westphalia Police and Rheinland-Pfalz State Police have established SEKs in other major cities as needed. A SEK unit can be attached to the Bereitschaftspolizei riot police or to larger regional police headquarters. However, the common trend is to put the SEK units under the control of the Landeskriminalamt (State Criminal Investigation Office, LKA). ==Eligibility and training==

Any state police officer is eligible to apply for service in a SEK unit, but it is common only to consider applications from officers with at least three years of duty experience. Schleswig-Holstein, and central Hesse have women in their ranks. The requirements demand physical and mental strength, discernment, and capacity for teamwork. About 30 percent of all candidates pass the tests. The length of the training necessary to become an operative in a SEK unit differs but is generally five to eight months long and covers a wide range of required skills. SEK operators usually get a stipend between 150 and 400 Euros, depending on the state police force where they work in. ==Equipment==

While firearms are still issued by the forces, SEK officers can order equipment they feel are suited best for missions. The following weapons are used by SEK: Weapons Vehicles The North Rhine-Westphalia SEK use Ford F-550 pickups modified to use MARS tactical ladders for raids on hard-to-reach places. and the Toyota Land Cruiser equipped with V8 engines as a first response vehicle. The Brandenburg State Police and the Hamburg Police use the PMV Survivor I for its SEK units. The SEK of the Bavarian State Police uses the LAPV Enok. ==Uniforms==

SEK members do not always operate in uniform but do wear masks to protect their identities, as well as to protect their bodies from burns. If cited in a trial they are only referred to by numbers. When off-duty SEK officers are called to a crime scene, they may appear plain-clothed, only wearing their special protective gear and carrying their weapons. ==Related units==

MEK during a demonstration The Mobile Einsatzkommandos (MEK) or Mobile Task Force, operate hand-in-hand with the SEKs. These plain-clothed units specialize in surveillance, quick arrests and mobile hostage sieges. They are used in investigations against organized crime, blackmailers or other serious offenses. MEKs also provide close protection for a state's senior leaders, including the state's minister-president or interior minister. Requirements for duty as a MEK officer are similar but partially less strict than the requirements for the SEK. == Images ==

File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567203075).jpg| File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567177595).jpg| File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567503113).jpg| File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567441553).jpg| File:Vorführung Spezialeinsatzkommando (10567174006).jpg| File:SEK Mann auf dem Dach des Hotels Bayrischer Hof in Muenchen.jpg| File:SEKBerlinEinsatz.jpg| File:SEK-Einsatz vom Schlauchboot (10584915235).jpg| File:SEK-Schnellboot (Schlauchboot) (10585073613).jpg| File:Abseilen aus SEK-Hubschrauber (Eurocopter EC 155 Dauphin) (10584850666).jpg| ==Notes==