The German culture features four traits of character and social organization: order, respect for authority, discipline, and the rule of law. German police not only enforce the rule of law, but are symbols of the State's authority and the State's interest in discipline and order. The German police differ from the American police in the powers conferred on them by the State, their public esteem, and their ferver in enforcing the law. Legal infractions involving insults to the German police are comparable to traffic laws in terms of the sanctions applied. The fines imposed can be paid by mail. Insults to the police are viewed under the law as threats to the social order and the State's authority, and they reflect a lack of discipline on the offender's part. The insults that are offenses can be grouped under three broad categories: those referring to the eating of feces, an officer's lack of intelligence, or the officer's deviance. 1 table, 11 references.