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Police night patrol

The night shift for the cantonal police lasts from 9.30 pm in the evening until 6 am in the morning with 60 policeman on patrol and 90 others on duty.
 
The canton is divided into the Zug, Baar and Berg, and Ennetsee sectors for patrol purposes with several events on a wet Friday evening being potential trouble spots, the open-air Rock the Docks festival and the lumberjack competition in Neuheim. Daytime incidents for the police involved conmen, car accidents, several thefts from building sites and illegal number plates. In the cells one drunk nearly three times over the drink-drive limit is slowly sobering up.
 
The night patrol starts - with a police dog, too. "Tonight we'll be patrolling industrial areas, helping to prevent crime by our presence," said Peter Niederberger, 48, acting divisional head of security and head of criminal search, who is in continual contact with his superiors by earphone.
 
Then a car parked in Baar is reported has having been damaged by a driver who has subsequently driven off without reporting it. The matter is investigated and the rear of the car with its bumper hanging off is photographed.
 
"I always wanted to be a policeman," said one 25-year-old officer." I wanted to do something good to help people and this motivates me," he said. As to the problem of tiredness on night duty, he takes Red Bull with him. Has he ever been afraid? "Only once, when I was pursuing of a robber," he replied.
 
Then there is another call about the machine at the Casino car park having been broken into. "This is quite a common occurrence, though it turned out to be a false alarm," said Niederberger.
 
The worst thing is having to tell someone of the death of a loved-one, but nice things happen, too, such as when people thank you for helping in a particular situation," said one officer. Another, with 23 years' service in the cantonal police, said, "What I find frustrating is when criminals are let off so lightly by the courts. The law should be much tougher," he said.
 
As the night goes on a window is smashed in a pub in Unterägeri. This time the police dog is used to pursue the culprits. Some of the patrons are heavily under the influence of alcohol and need to be dealt with tactfully. Further incidents in the same night involve a cocaine addict caught driving a car, two fights, a further false alarm and other incidents due to the heavy rain.
 
And when the shift ends at 6 am, the paper work begins...

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