Illegal migration

German border controls: Police draw first conclusions

German police officers check a Bulgarian van at the border with Belgium in Aachen. Since September 16, border controls in Germany have been extended - to the national borders in the west and north. The German government justifies this with the migration situation.(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

For over a week now, more checks have been carried out at German borders to combat illegal migration. However, the police union's interim conclusion is extremely modest.

According to the German Police Union (GdP), the new border controls have so far done little to limit illegal migration.

"Apprehensions relatively low"
"It should be noted that the number of apprehensions of unauthorized persons and smugglers is relatively low," GdP chairman Andreas Roßkopf told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. As a result, there were only a small number of refusals at the western border.

The failures in this area in recent years are now falling on our shoulders.

Andreas Roßkopf, Vorsitzender der deutschen Polizeigewerkschaft

Since last week, checks have been carried out at all German borders in order to reduce the number of people entering the country without authorization. The checks at the land borders with Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are new.

German controls at the border with France in Kehl(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

Checks have been carried out at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland for some time, and there have also been checks at the border with France due to the Olympic Games. The measure is initially limited to six months.

German police officers check a Bulgarian van at the border with Belgium in Aachen. Since September 16, border controls in Germany have been extended - to the country's western and northern borders. The German government justifies this with the migration situation.(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

Temporary for six months
Checkpoints and main roads are now simply being bypassed
Roßkopf said that checkpoints and main roads have simply been bypassed since the measures were introduced. The police also lack the equipment to operate as a modern investigative police force. "The shortcomings in this area in recent years are now falling on our shoulders."

Deterrent effect cannot be explained
There has also been no discernible deterrent effect of the measures to date. "The forwarding of protection and asylum seekers to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in the interior of the country remains high," says Roßkopf.