The Wasserschutzpolizei is the river police that patrols the waterways, lakes and harbours of Germany around the clock. The WSP are part of the Landespolizei. The Federal Police maintains 16 patrol craft and helicopters are part of the Coast Guard (Küstenwache) and assigned to coastal BPOL stations. The watercraft include six offshore patrol vessels, e.g. those of the Bad Bramstedt class, as well as a number of fast inshore vessels and one tugboat.
Boat of the Bremen Wasserschutzpolizei in Bremerhaven
A WSP patrol boat of the Hesse State Police
A WSP patrol boat of the Mecklenburg Vorpommern State Police
A WSP patrol boat of the Hesse State Police in Frankfurt
Water police, also called bay constables, coastal police, harbor patrols, marine/maritime police/patrol, nautical patrols, port police, or river police are a specialty law enforcement portion of a larger police organization, who patrol in water craft. Their patrol areas may include coastal tidal waters, rivers, estuaries, harbors, lakes, canals or a combination of these.
A NYPD boat on patrol in New York Harbor in 2006
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) used by the UK's North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit. It is marked as both POLICE and HEDDLU, as it operates in both England and Wales
Rescue Exercise
A Metropolitan Police launch on the River Thames in London
