Education
Albers studied Law at the University of Bonn, and following his Staatsexamen degree he joined the state administration service at the Cologne district administration.
Albers studied Law at the University of Bonn, and following his Staatsexamen degree he joined the state administration service at the Cologne district administration.
From 1 October 2011 to 8 January 2016 he has served as chief of the Cologne police (German: Polizeipräsident). He joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany and was among the organizational committee of the peace movement protests in Germany, including the 1982 Hofgarten demonstration in Bonn against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Double-Track Decision with several hundred thousands of peaceful protesters. One of his first professional functions was to serve as provisional acting head of Leverkusen Police for two years.
In 1991 he transferred to the state government of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia to work in the Minister of Interior"s personal staff
In 2002, Interior Minister Fritz Behrens appointed him to head the police department of Bonn. He reduced staff and closed as well the Mounted police department.
The German police union GdP was highly critical of the policy. In 2011, he succeeded the retiring chief of the police department of Cologne, Klaus Steffenhagen, upon appointment of Interior Minister Ralf Jäger.
Albers was criticized in October 2014, when the Cologne police didn"t bring violent anti-Islamist Hogesa protests under control.
Critics referred to a similar demonstration in Hannover, which had been pacified by a strict interdiction of alcoholoc beverages, various weapons and entry checks and a much larger police force. In comparison, the Cologne police forces had been surprised by the violent approach and the large amount of protestors. Albers had not reacted on media reports first, but had quickly dissolved the unit after a public controversy.
Finally, a court investigation showed no need for further investigation and closed the case.
Albers lost trust within the police force according a report of moderate conservative daily FAZ. In January 2016, following the inadequate handling of the sexual assaults on New Year"s Eve, the Cologne police came under criticism again and Albers faced demands to resign. Because of the allegations of misinformation and the "loss of public trust", the Minister of the Interior transferred Albers to provisional retirement on January 8.
Albers often carried hats in public. The local daily Kölner Stadtanzeiger used that for an article about Albers collection of hats and his role as a Hutbürger (hat citizen), a pun with Wutbürger, a famous German 2010 neologism about enraged citizens.
He often used a bicycle, even for professional occasions and is among the proponents of compulsory bicycle helmets.
A scandal around hazing rituals in special police force, Spezialeinsatzkommando 3“ (South East Kansas) in Cologne lead to first calls for a retreat of Albers by members of the local Christian Democratic Union. He is member of the Kirchenkreis Bonn of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland und was appointed member of the local Synode.
