Germany’s interior minister called Monday’s report of a record nearly 3,000 attacks on federal police officers last year a “shocking record.”
Nancy Faeser made her comments in the port city of Rostock in eastern Germany during a presentation of the data that showed 2,979 officers attacked in 2023, according to the Federal Police’s annual report for the year.
Nearly 25% or 93 officers were injured – a record since data started to be collected in 2001. The figures showed 11% or 88 officers were so badly injured that they are unable to work.
Almost always, the attacks involved physical violence, according to the Federal Police, and most occurred during routine duties, predominantly while patrolling, conducting criminal investigations or accompanying deportations.
The federal police is responsible for border protection, including railway stations and airports. A significant portion of attacks happened during rail operations. Incidents also occurred during events and football matches.
The report states that a large majority, or 78%, of the attackers were men, averaging 33 years old. Nearly half were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Many were known to the police, with almost a quarter being repeat or intensive offenders. Nearly half of the attackers had a German passport.
There have been more than 400 physical attacks on federal police officers so far this year, resulting in serious injuries, Federal Police President Dieter Romann said at the presentation.
“A young police officer did not survive this year,” he said.
More illegal entries recorded
Officers have detected significantly more illegal entries, with 127,549 cases, the highest level since since 2016 and an increase of around 39% compared to 2022. However, many of these people remain in Germany for the time being.
Border controls picking up more people
Since mid-October last year, there have been border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Controls have been in place at the Austrian border since September 2015.
Between October 16, 2023 and the end of the year, the Federal Police detected 18,930 illegal entries at all four border sections.
According to the report, 9,626 people were prevented from entering. Those who apply for asylum can stay for the time being and undergo a procedure. The Federal Police apprehended a total of 440 smugglers.
There were other successes for law enforcement, the data showed. Federal Police discovered 11,721 people on a wanted persons list, with 1,966 outstanding arrest warrants executed.
In addition, there were 1,237 property searches conducted, in which stolen passports or cars were found. Controls at the Austrian border are currently reported to the Brussels EU Commission until mid-November, and those with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland until mid-December. However, controls have been extended several times in the past.
Faeser made it clear that she intends to maintain these controls until significantly fewer people enter Europe illegally. She said that Germany accepts far more migrants than other countries, which is unfair.
“I am no longer willing to accept this distribution of numbers within Europe,” she said.
Germany’s deportation numbers up
The number of deportations from Germany rose to 21,206 last year, up from 18,094 the year before. A total of 4,776 people were turned back at the border in 2023. However, the plan was to deport 52,976 people. One reason this has not occurred said Faeser and Romann, is the lack of deportation detention places.
The officials said federal police officers spend significantly more than half of their 4 million working hours last year on migration – namely 2.7 million hours were devoted to this.
Some 560,000 hours were devoted to football matches. There are 54,723 employees at the Federal Police.
Rise in violent crime at rail stations
Incidences of violent crime at rail stations rose by 11% in 2023 to 25,640 from 23,110 in 2022, with large stations particularly susceptible to violent crimes.
There were 425,090 criminal offences at railway station or on trains, according to the report.
