More riot police in border area: Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann strengthens border police for more controls in border area with Austria and Czech Republic – focus on combating illegal migration and smuggling of migrants

Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann is strengthening the Bavarian Border Police for more controls in the border area with Austria and the Czech Republic. “In August 2023, the Bavarian Riot Police will further expand the support of the Bavarian Border Police with additional units, especially for smuggling controls,” Herrmann announced. To this end, he said, the riot police will subordinate up to 50 forces to the border police each week for priority checks. “A main focus will be the fight against illegal migration and smuggling of migrants. To this end, the Bavarian Border Police will work closely with the Federal Police, which also controls in the area near the border.”

Since March 2023, increased large-scale smuggling of groups with more than ten persons has been detected at the German-Austrian land border. The migrants are mainly smuggled into Bavaria in trucks and vans. Focal points are currently in the area of Passau, Simbach am Inn and Burghausen. “The tighter controls benefit the security situation in Bavaria and throughout Germany,” Herrmann explained. For example, he said, the Bavarian Border Police pull out all the stops during checks when necessary, from meticulous checks on vehicle occupants to targeted searches for smuggling and smugglers’ hideouts. “Above all, our border investigators are concerned with working together with the federal police to dismantle the inhumane smuggling networks,” Herrmann emphasized. Out of pure greed for profit, he said, people are transported crammed into tight spaces between cargo or in gaps, sometimes for many hours. “This can quickly become life-threatening for those who are being trafficked, especially in the high temperatures of summer,” Herrmann warned.

Already since October 2022, the Bavarian Border Police, with the support of the Bavarian Riot Police, has been carrying out intensified dragnet checks in the area near the border. In the first half of 2023 alone, units of the Bavarian Riot Police provided support with a total of around 1,000 forces. According to Herrmann, this has proven successful. “With the help of the highly committed colleagues of the riot police, our border police can provide even more intensive security in the area near the border,” the interior minister said. “Therefore, we will further intensify the support from August, flanking the already ongoing strong expansion of the Bavarian Border Police.” For example, the Free State had already significantly strengthened the Bavarian Border Police in recent years. This, he said, not only involved state-of-the-art equipment with high-tech control equipment such as special drones with thermal imaging cameras, but also personnel in particular. “Since their establishment, we have increased the number of border police officers by a good 300 to currently around 820,” Herrmann clarified. Another 50 are to follow when personnel are allocated in September 2023. By 2025, the border police should have more than 1,000 positions.