Deutsche Polizei Obermeister Leonhard Boitz from the former Communist East German city of Dresden came to Minnesota for a three-week internship with Chaplain Tim Sherman from March 3rd through the 23rd of 2009.

“Leo” chose to study our Set FREE! treatment program for his university-level continuing education, which is required for his promotion within the German Police in the State of Saxony. He hopes to attend our Biblical Law Enforcement and Corrections Chaplaincy training in April of 2011.

He and Chaplain Sherman traveled over 4,150 miles visiting law enforcement agencies and a number of State Prison facilities across the state of Minnesota, speaking with inmates who have completed the Set FREE! program. He also learned a great deal about the way the Criminal Justice System here in America works.





Thank you to all the agencies and facilities who were gracious in accommodating our visits.





Mahnomen County Court Administrator explains the District Court System

Above: Obermeister Boitz visited the Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office and Courthouse.


Below: Mahnomen County Sheriff Doug Krier received a Saxony State Police patch and crest. German police do not have badges of any kind, and they are strongly discouraged from carrying a firearm off duty. Their weapons must be accounted for and secured at the officer’s precinct station house when they go off duty.

Below: Obermeister Boitz visited the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Center in Otter Tail, MN, and was given a tour of the facility and shown a squad car.








While there are a number of equipment items not available to the German Police, such as the TASER, one-man patrols do not exist anywhere in the country. All German Police squads everywhere and on all shifts run 2-man cars. Ride alongs and interns must sit in the back seat.






911 Dispatcher Dave Cosette explained the operation of the 911 system to Obermeister Boitz


In the German Police, only one officer per shift is allowed access to the internet on duty.

Left and Above: Officer Justin Ege of the Elk River PD shows us around the station and a squad.

Law enforcement departments in Germany are either National or Federal State police. They do not have separate city/county agencies. Obermeister Boitz works in the Federal State of Saxony within the city of Dresden which has a population of over 500,000. The City of Dresden has ten police precincts, each with approximately 50 officers.









Royalton Police Chief Adam Gunderson demonstrated a thermal imaging unit recently acquired thorugh a grant.

Right: A visit with Officer Gorman in Downtown Minneapolis











Left: Hennepin County Jail tour with Program Director Connie Meyer and Chaplain David Whiteford.





Chaplain Whiteford oversees the facilitation of our Set FREE! Treatment Program in the Hennepin County Jail. David was honored as the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association Volunteer of the Year in 2008.










Connie gave us an extended tour of the jail. We appreciated her attention to detail and careful explanation of the intricate internal operations of this very large facility. Thanks Connie!



Above: The Control Room for the Hennepin County Jail








We were also given a tour of the Minneapolis Metro area 911 Emergency Dispatch Center





Below:Assistant Wardens Barb Seidl (Programs) and Tom Kessler (Operations) led our tour of the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, MN.

Below: Our visits of Minnesota Correctional Facilites at Oak Park Heights and Stillwater included a detailed tour of the OPH institution led by Assistant Warden Mary McComb, and opportunities to interview selected inmates in MCF Stillwater who have taken the Set FREE! program.








Special thanks to Caseworker John Peterson for arranging these visits.


Below: MCF St. Cloud Warden Pat Adair met with Obermeister Boitz and explained the role of the institution as the intake facility for the entire state. Warden Adair also led us on a 90-minute tour of the entire facility. We are so grateful to her for taking the time to accommodate our visit. It was most helpful and very interesting! Thank you also to the staff of A, B, and E Houses for working around our visit!











Below: Officer Nik Smith of the St. Cloud PD met Obermeister Boitz and showed him around the department’s mobile crime lab.





Below: Sheriffs Bill Berquist of Clay County (MN) and Paul Laney of Cass County (ND) took some time from their busy schedules to meet with us and were given a patch and cap insignia crest.
































Obermeister Boitz also met with Martin County officials for an informative briefing on Drug Courts, Youth Intervention and Diversion Programs, and Victim’s Assistance.

Included in the meeting were District Court Judge Robert D. Walker (left), Martin County Sheriff Brad Gerhardt and Captain Jeff Marquart, Chaplain and Mrs. John Schofield, Fairmont PD Lt. Del Ellis, and representatives from the MN DOC Parole Office and Social Services.


During the three weeks of his visit, we traveled over 4,150 miles within the state of Minnesota. Obermeister Boitz learned a great deal about the American criminal justice system and returns to Germany with some ideas to share and possibly implement within the German police system. It was an honor to host him.





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