Temperatures are dropping and the water sports season is drawing inexorably to a close. Loneliness grips harbours and jetties. Most boats go into winter storage. To avoid any nasty surprises in the new year, theft prevention is the order of the day. This also includes engraving boats, engines and equipment with a forgery-proof individual number. This service is offered by the Constance Water Police Station and the local Competence Centre for Boat Crime (KBK) on Friday, 27 October 2023, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at their station in the Stromeyersdorfstraße 7 free of charge.
Spoiling the loot for thieves
Individual numbers, which can be used to identify the engine after a theft, for example, are often affixed to stickers or riveted plates that can be removed relatively easily. On the date mentioned above, it will be possible to have all individual numbers permanently engraved on boats, engines or other nautical equipment free of charge using an engraving machine. This makes these valuables less attractive as stolen goods and also makes it easier to identify them to their rightful owner in the event of an inspection or seizure.
All data is stored in a Boat pass It will also be made available free of charge on site on 27 October. This means that in the event of a claim, the owner has all insurance and investigation-relevant data to hand. This saves valuable time during investigations and increases the chances of success.
Don't forget your passport and proof of ownership!
Identity card and proof of ownership must be brought to the engraving appointment. This is because the WSP and KBK naturally want to rule out the possibility of "whitewashing" and apparently "legalising" stolen property by engraving it. In order to be able to plan better, the WSP asks for Registration by e-mail on kbk@polizei.bwl.de. Who on 27 October 2023 between 8 and 16 o'clock spontaneous If you visit the WSP station in Constance, you should expect to have to wait. WSP or KBK will answer questions about the procedure in advance by telephone: 07531/59 02 300.
Germany-wide WSP service
This free prevention programme offered by the water police is not only available in Constance on Lake Constance and in Baden-Württemberg, but almost nationwide. Its roots go back more than 20 years. By 2012, it had spread across the whole of Germany - with the exception of Thuringia, which is the only federal state without a waterway police force. The pioneers of the campaign were the WSP of Bremen and the state of Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein, which are most affected by outboard motor thieves.
Trigger were not only High or increasing numbers of theftsbut also the problem, Clearly identify seized stolen goods and to be able to assign them. What a frustration for police officers, when they are Checks on the motorway or at the border They are caught by transporters with obviously hot goods, but have to let them drive on because they cannot prove in the short time available that the items were stolen!
Self-explanatory, effective and impressively simple
The serial number stickers or adhesive foils used by the manufacturers can be easily removed. Not so the code engraved by the water police and entered in a boat passport. In most federal states, the WSP uses the FEIN or EIN code (owner identification code), which has been tried and tested in bicycle coding. This is made up of the municipality and street code, house number and the initials of the owner. It is self-explanatory and therefore allows conclusions to be drawn about the rightful owner even without official registration. The success of coding and engraving has been proven many times over, whether through clear identification during checks or the fact that no theft occurred in the first place.
Tip for clubs, harbour and jetty communities
Anyone who would like to use the free service of the water police - especially clubs, jetty and harbour communities - but cannot take advantage of the above-mentioned offer in Constance for reasons of time or distance, can find the following overview Contact person of the WSP for his respective federal state. Engraving appointments can be enquired about and, if necessary, arranged individually.
Irrespective of this, it is advisable to take photos of the boat, engine and equipment and, as a precaution, to record all data and identification numbers relevant to the search in the aforementioned Boat pass and keep it at home (not on board!). Here again the Download link.
Contact at WSP for engraving and coding
- Baden-Württemberg
All WSP service centres - Bavaria
Water Police Centre Bavaria, Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 10, 91126 Schwabach
Tel. 09122/927-472
E-mail: wspz@polizei.bayern.de - Brandenburg
All WSP service centres - Bremen
All WSP service centres - Hamburg
Sven Fruhriep, WSP 63, Wilstorfer Straße 100, 21073 Hamburg
Tel. 040/4286 65 285
E-Mail: sven.fruhriep@polizei.hamburg.de - Hesse
All WSP service centres - Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Sebastian Seibel, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Water Police Office, Straße der Demokratie 1, 18196 Waldeck
Tel. 038208/887-3140
E-mail: praevention@lwspa-mv.de - Lower Saxony
Waterway Police Inspectorate, Operations/Crime Prevention Officer, Bloherfelder Straße 235, 26129 Oldenburg
Tel. 0441/7907813
E-mail: einsatz@wspi.polizei.niedersachsen.de - North Rhine-Westphalia
Waterway Police Directorate, Central Criminal Investigation Department (ZKK), Moerser Straße 217-219, 47198 Duisburg
Tel. 0203/280-3060
E-mail: thomas.vetter@polizei.nrw.de - Rhineland-Palatinate
Michael Breuer, Police Headquarters Operations, Logistics and Technology, WSP Department, Robert-Koch-Straße 27, 55129 Mainz
Tel. 06131/65-8015
E-mail: ppelt.wsp.sg3@polizei.rlp.de - Saarland
Saarland Water Police, Dieselstraße 1, 66763 Dillingen-Saar
Tel. 06831/7699373
E-mail: LPP16@polizei.slpol.de - Saxony
Presidium of the Riot Police, Water Police, Stauffenbergallee 18, 01099 Dresden
Tel. 0351/8197-3064
E-mail: maik.augustin@polizei.sachsen.de - Saxony-Anhalt
Operations control centre of the Magdeburg water police station, Markgrafenstraße 12, 39114 Magdeburg
Tel. 0391/546-2616
In Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein, the waterway police no longer offer an engraving or coding service. There is no WSP in the federal state of Thuringia anyway.
