Nancy Faeser, Germany's interior minister, chose a fitting setting to present the German Federal Police's annual report: Rostock in northeastern Germany, which she visited before the press conference to get a picture of organized crime in the Baltic port city. 

She was sitting on a ship with a view of the port next to Dieter Romann, the head of the German Federal Police, or Bundespolizei, when she presented a sobering figure: Last year, German police recorded the highest number of crimes since 2012.

Almost 800,000 crimes were registered, 12.5% more than in 2022. This is likely a consequence of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as tremendous polarization within Germany itself.

Romann lamented the fact that there had been almost 3,000 attacks on police officers last year: "Almost 800 were injured, many very seriously. And this year, there have already been 400 more attacks. One police officer did not survive the attack. His wife has since given birth to a child who will never know his father."

Praise for policing during Euro 2024

Since day-to-day routine police work is the responsibility of the individual federal states, the Bundespolizei is generally called into action for tasks that affect the whole of Germany. These include securing the borders, combating international organized crime and protecting German politicians and institutions such as ministries.

The Bundespolizei boasts a total of around 56,000 officers. It deployed a record number of officers during the Euro 2024 football championship in June and July, carrying out checks at borders, train stations and in front of stadiums.

"What the Federal Police did was really fantastic," said Faeser. "It was essentially responsible for ensuring that Euro 2024 was safe. It deployed 22,000 officers a day, every day — despite the summer vacations."

Extension of static border controls

The Interior Minister is determined to continue imposing the static controls introduced for Euro 2024 at important borders, such as those with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. The idea is to prevent illegal entries into Germany and fight human trafficking.

The controls are currently supposed to be in place until mid-December. When asked whether she would extend them beyond that date, Faeser answered succinctly, "Yes."

She argued that there was a lack of consistency across the EU: "There are also other countries that have a responsibility, but they are not up to the task, and the controls will remain in place until there are really significant changes."

Faeser then used the annual report to further justify the decision. She said that after a steep increase in illegal entries into Germany last year, the number declined in 2024. She said fewer than 53,000 had been counted this year, while in 2023, there were almost 128,000.

For Faeser and Romann, top Bundespolizei priorities should be combatting illegal immigration, cracking down on organized crime, keeping train stations and airports safe and secure.

The Interior Minister would also like to deport people, for example, convicted criminals, to Syria and Afghanistan in the future, but the legal hurdles are extremely high. Such evictions are currently suspended given the human rights situation in both countries.

This article was originally published in German.