Border security Federal police warn of inadequate controls along German border

Düsseldorf · There is a chronic shortage of security personnel in Aachen at the border and more security personnel still needed at Cologne/Bonn Airport.

 Only 55% of the 290 police officers that should be securing the border are employed in these positions, according to the German police union in North Rhine Westphalia.

Only 55% of the 290 police officers that should be securing the border are employed in these positions, according to the German police union in North Rhine Westphalia.

Foto:  Patrick Seeger

The federal police in Aachen warn that the monitoring of Germany’s border with Belgium is unsatisfactory. Only 55% of the 290 police officers that should be securing the border are employed in these positions, according to the German police union (Gewerkschaft der Polizei, GdP) in North Rhine Westphalia (NRW). This stretch near Aachen is 200 kilometers long with more than 46 train stations.

After the terrorist attacks of Paris and Brussels, border controls in this area were intensified. However, there is a shortage of federal police officers yet again. Federal police officers from Aachen have been called to work at Cologne/Bonn airport and are therefore unable to work the border. At the same time, airport security is completely overextended. The trade union Verdi said that about 70 security personnel positions are still not filled at Cologne/Bonn airport. Passengers are kept waiting in long lines.

In the aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks, there was a short period of time when there were heavy restrictions on free movement in and out of Germany at the border with Aachen. Security forces worked to detect terrorists, arresting 240 people known to German and foreign authorities. Officers recovered 150 thousand euros worth of stolen goods and the number of break-ins in the area dropped by 63 percent.

Michael Schaffrath, a federal police officer and union member in Aachen, estimates that only 165 of the necessary 290 officers are available to work at the border. “Because of this, there are gaps in the monitoring of the border, which can be exploited by those who try to come into Germany unnoticed,” says Schaffrath. Executive board member of the GdP branch in NRW, Arnd Krummen, believes that the area near Aachen is possibly “the least secure border in Germany.”

The federal police are currently also dealing with refugees who began their asylum-process in Germany, but have since moved to a different country. According to Krummen, Belgium is currently sending many illegal immigrants back to Germany. Also, hundreds of NRW police officers are still in southern Germany to secure the borders there.

Federal police face big challenges at Cologne/Bonn airport, which has attracted attention recently due to a lack of security personnel. However, Athanasios Titonis, technical manager at the airport says, “After the terrorist attacks in Brussels, they (federal police) are very present and have increased their patrols.”

(Orig. text: Matthias Korfmann)

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