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In Western Europe, the police is mostly seen as a friendly adviser to help you rather than someone who’ll give you a fine.

In most countries, Germany and the Benelux for sure, you can easily have a talk with them and ask them for information, road safety advice or anything else without fear of getting reprimanded or made fun of.

This is mostly because about a decade ago, at the advice of the EU (then still only some 15 members), the countries decided together that they wanted to improve the way police is perceived and therefore plastered streets with posters allover stating ‘the police is your friend and helper’.

It now appears that this message has really sunk in with those growing up in Europe as from the 2000s as it was reported that in the case of a man in Ludwigshafen that advice was taken very personally. The weekly police report over there made mention of an unnamed 34-year old who walked into the station, clearly with a lot on his mind.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Die Polizei, dein Freund und Helfer: Ein 34-Jähriger suchte die örtliche Polizeidienststelle in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ludwigshafen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ludwigshafen</a> auf, um sich Tipps zu holen, wie er mit seiner Freundin Schluss machen kann.<a href="https://t.co/d0LTAZYZfm">https://t.co/d0LTAZYZfm</a></p>— WESER-KURIER (@weserkurier) <a href="https://twitter.com/weserkurier/status/979291559891005440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2018</a></blockquote>

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His problem was a personal one: he wanted to break up with his girlfriend but did not know how. He just did not understand her anymore, he said.

It is said that one of the female police officers present at the station then took him aside and proposed various alternative scenarios as to how his girlfriend could be made to understand he wanted to break up with her. The police force did not describe exactly what options had been suggested to the man, but were quite clear that the actual breaking-up was a job he would have to do himself.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Mann will mit Freundin Schluss machen und fragt Polizei um Hilfe - Rhein Neckar Zeitung <a href="https://t.co/RXjV7XQ1E6">https://t.co/RXjV7XQ1E6</a></p>— Sonja Klein (@kleinesobe) <a href="https://twitter.com/kleinesobe/status/979221811148795905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The police report which mentioned the encounter stated that: "We are willing to advise, but we cannot close the deal."

"We help everyone, and we always have an open ear for citizens' concerns."

Source:

http://www.rnf.de/ludwigshafen-mann-will-mit-freundin-schluss-machen-und-fragt-polizei-um-hilfe-170690/