Here for You Online

"I have a special interest in social media, and in addition to police training, I also have an education in digital marketing. I really enjoy working on the internet and find both content production and the other tasks we have here in the online patrol very exciting," says Gabriella, who has worked for the online patrol since 2022.

The police's online patrols are visible and accessible on social media. They share information, receive tips, answer police-related questions, and perform police work online. The online patrol exists in every police district. Gabriella belongs to the online patrol in the East Police District.

She is mainly responsible for their social media accounts and also does a lot of content production.

"We also have a chat function on Facebook and Instagram where the public can contact us if they need help or want to tip us off about various things. We receive many inquiries about crimes happening online, but also about incidents occurring in the physical world, which we forward to the appropriate place."

Should Have an Interest in Digital Police Work

In addition, they assist the operations center and the Joint Criminal Case Intake (FSI) in urgent cases such as emergency law, tracking IP addresses, and various social media accounts. The online patrol also conducts OSINT searches (Open-Source Intelligence) to assist the operations center, intelligence, and investigations. This involves finding information in open sources on the internet.

What do you need to do to work in the online patrol?

"To work here, you must be police-trained and have a special interest in digital police work and the internet in general."

Gabriella thinks the best part of the profession is the versatile workday and the opportunity to actually make a difference in others' lives.

"Now the online patrol doesn't work on the streets, but there are still people who contact us when they are in a crisis and ask for our help. It is very rewarding to actually be able to help people," says Gabriella.

Good colleagues are a great motivation in everyday life. Gabriella says that they have a very good environment in the online patrol.

"I also feel important and valued here, and it is a great motivation to know that I am needed at work."

Do you have any tips for those considering becoming a police officer?

"Life is simply too short not to follow your dreams. If you want to become a police officer, then do it. It doesn't matter what others think or say, or if you think it sounds difficult or scary. Just go for it – it's worth it when you can spend the rest of your life working on what you are passionate about.