The freedom of the press guaranteed in the German constitution is one of the outstanding features of a democratic constitutional state. It creates the conditions for the formation of will and opinion. For this reason, the state press law obliges authorities to provide representatives of the press with the information they need to fulfill their public duties.

Press work

Press work at the Rhein-Sieg district police authority is based on the following objectives and standards, among others, in its daily media work:

• It fulfils its obligation to provide information in accordance with Section 4 of the NRW State Press Act and creates the basis for objective reporting in the media.
• it clarifies the legal mandate of the police to the public.
• it conveys an objective image of the police to the public.
• it informs the public on an ad hoc basis in order to sensitize them or encourage them to participate.

Press relations as a special form of public relations work includes the provision or supply of news and assessments about events or developments in police work to the media. Press work also includes the evaluation and compilation of media publications and the supervision of media productions.

Public relations

Public relations work is about making police activities transparent and understandable. This is done in a variety of ways, for example via the website or by providing information materials such as brochures, flyers and posters, but also by organizing public events. An important part of today's public relations work is social media. The police provide regular information via the Facebook page (@polizei.nrw.su) and the Twitter channel (@polizei_nrw_su). Twitter is used on special occasions, such as demonstrations, to inform the public about events with short tweets. In addition, information from the authorities is published via Instagram (@polizei.nrw.su).

In addition to external public relations work, the department is also responsible for ensuring internal police communication. This is done, for example, via the internal police intranet, which is available to all police employees to keep them informed about official developments.