After almost 45 years in the police force, Matthias Giese, First Chief Superintendent of Police, will be taking his well-deserved retirement on June 1, 2024. He is handing over the management of Olpe police station to Thorsten Lange, who is no stranger to the Olpe district.
Born in Drolshagen, he joined the police in 1992 straight after leaving school. He completed his training in the middle ranks in Brühl (near Cologne). The 51-year-old can now look back on almost 32 years of service: he joined the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis district police authority (then still KPB Bergisch Gladbach) in 1995 as a police master on guard and change duty. In 1997, Thorsten Lange decided to study at the Hagen University of Applied Sciences to become a senior officer. He then returned to Bergisch Gladbach, first as head of the control center and later the police station (from 2003). Finally, in 2008, he was transferred to the Olpe district for the first time. At the district police authority, he gained valuable service experience in various positions, particularly in the "Hazard Prevention / Operations" directorate, including as watch commander, head of the control center and police station. After 15 years in the service of the Olpe district police authority, he moved to the Siegen-Wittgenstein police station, where he was most recently promoted to First Chief Superintendent in the Siegen police station. Thorsten Lange is now delighted to be back at the Olpe police station: "For me, the position of watch manager is a new and exciting challenge. As I know that I will be supported by numerous colleagues here, I hope that I will be able to replace the former watch manager well."
Matthias Giese, who can now look back on almost 45 years of service, is probably a familiar face to many citizens in the district: he began his police training back in 1979. After serving in Olpe for the first time in 1985, he decided to move up to the higher ranks in 1988 and studied at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. After graduating, he initially moved to the Oberberg district as a squad leader until he finally returned to the Olpe district in 1995. Here, Matthias Giese began as a service group leader (until 2001), press spokesman (2001 - 2012), took over the management of the police station in Lennestadt (until 2015) and finally managed the police station in Olpe for nine years. After his service, Matthias Giese will pursue his hobbies, which are primarily sporting, and above all spend his free time with friends and family.
