| Project period |
01.12.2024 – 28.02.2026
| Project staff |
Dr. Anne-Kathrin Kreft & Dr. Farina Rühs (project lead)
Marie Scheidenberger
| Contact information |
| Funding and cooperation |
City of Hanover
KFN
| Project description |
Violence against first responders has gained increasing media attention in recent years. According to the federal situation report by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) on violence against emergency personnel, the number of violent incidents reached a new peak in 2023. Specifically, the number of attacks against fire service and emergency medical personnel increased by 13.7% and 8.4%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Within the fire service, however, official reports of incidents of violence during operations remain rare. Since physical assaults constitute approximately half the cases in the federal situation report, it is plausible to assume that it is particularly the more serious incidents that are reported. Underreporting thus likely obscures the full extent of aggression and violence against non-police emergency personnel. Especially verbal assaults or less severe forms of physical violence (e.g., shoving, pushing) tend to remain under the radar. While these may seem less significant as solitary events, it is conceivable that they could have substantial effects when they occur repeatedly.
Previous studies in the German context have focused primarily on the prevalence and frequency of different forms of violence, on the violent situations themselves (e.g., contexts of occurrence, perpetrators, risk factors), and on the preparedness for violent events in emergency operations or in training and education programs. The stress experienced by emergency personnel due to violence, and their coping strategies have been less central in previous German studies, by contrast. This raises questions not only about the impact on the individual well-being of emergency personnel affected by violence, but also about how such incidents might affect commitment and motivation (for both professional and volunteer emergency forces). Especially in terms of societal cohesion and social engagement, these aspects warrant greater attention. Regarding the consequences of, and responses to, aggression and violence, the resources available to emergency personnel also deserve greater scrutiny. In this context, it is important to study needs and requirements not only from an institutional perspective, but also from the personal perspective of the emergency personnel.
In cooperation with the City of Hanover, the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony is conducting an individual-level survey on aggression and violence against emergency responders in the fire service and emergency medical services. We plan to survey all professional and volunteer emergency personnel of the Hannover Fire Department (N = approx. 1,550). To investigate causal relationships with respect to the consequences and handling of violent incidents, we envision two data collection points that are six months apart. We will assess the prevalence and contexts of aggression and violence experienced by Hannover Fire Department personnel. Additionally, the project will test basic assumptions in the psychology and social science literatures about the individual and institutional handling of violent incidents, as well as their consequences for health, commitment and motivation, and will generate recommendations for further preventative and intervention measures tailored specifically towards the City of Hanover.