Latest news with #GermanPoliceUnion
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
German minister backs equipping police with Tasers
Police throughout Germany should be equipped with Tasers, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said. Dobrindt told the Funke media group of newspapers he would ensure that the legal framework for equipping officers with the electric shock devices was established this year. He described the use of the devices as "a suitable means" of responding to the increased threat to police in public. Tasers would also better protect officers if they were attacked with stabbing weapons, such as knives, he said. The devices operate at a distance of between 2 and 5 metres, temporarily incapacitating people with an electrical shock. However, their use is controversial as they can pose a risk to the heart and potentially cause cardiac arrest or death. Dobrindt's comments follow a call made by the Lower Saxony branch of the German Police Union to equip officers with Tasers following a fatal police shooting of a 21-year-old black man. The young man, only identified by his first name - Lorenz - under Germany's strict privacy laws, was shot four times by a police officer in April in Oldenburg. Investigators said that the German man had previously sprayed irritant gas outside a nightclub and injured several people before fleeing from the scene. When patrol officers tried to confront him, he apparently approached them in a threatening manner and sprayed irritant gas in their direction. The case sparked outrage across Germany, with protests against racism and police violence taking place throughout the country.
The Star
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Germany's tougher border controls show early impact, but raise sustainability concerns
BERLIN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Amid growing migration pressures, Germany's recently intensified border controls and increased asylum rejections are beginning to yield results. Even as the Federal Ministry of the Interior showed no signs of rolling back, the police union warned on Monday that the measures are not sustainable in the long run. Shortly after taking office, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered a sharp increase in border checks and authorized the rejection of asylum seekers directly at entry points. Within a week, the number of rejections rose by nearly 50 percent, according to the minister. However, the police union has raised alarms over the strain on federal police forces. Andreas Rosskopf, chairman of the German Police Union was quoted by the Funke Media Group as saying Monday that the current level of control is only feasible due to extraordinary measures such as restructured duty rosters, suspended training, and halted overtime leave. "The police can only maintain the intensive controls for a few more weeks," Rosskopf warned. More than 1,000 riot police officers have been deployed in border regions over recent days. Rosskopf noted concerns from within the security services about long-term staffing, including whether federal police can continue supporting state authorities as before, such as during football matches and demonstrations. Criticism has also emerged at the European level. Katarina Barley, vice president of the European Parliament, has described the early impact of the controls as "very limited" and instead recommended covert, random identity checks as a more sustainable solution. "The Schengen Area is one of Europe's greatest achievements," she emphasized.
Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Germany's border controls will fail within weeks, police warn
Germany will be forced to abandon its enhanced border controls within weeks as the officers guarding the 2,300-mile land frontier are being stretched to breaking point, the country's main police union has warned. Friedrich Merz, the conservative chancellor, took office this month with a promise to 'end illegal immigration' and use 'every measure available under the rule of law' to prevent irregular migrants from entering German territory. His interior minister Alexander Dobrindt promptly ordered border police to start turning back asylum seekers, with immediate results. Last week, 739 migrants were rejected at the border, a 45 per cent increase on the rate before the new regime was introduced. However, this week the German Police Union claimed that the system was already on its last legs.
DW
19-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
Germany updates: Police say extra border checks unustainable – DW – 05/19/2025
The German Police Union (GdP) is warning that intensified border checks and asylum rejections cannot go on much longer amid staff shortages and suspended training. GdP chief Andreas Rosskopf said the measures rely on adjusted rosters, canceled leave, and paused training. Over 1,000 riot police are currently deployed at the borders after Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt recently tightened controls, with turnbacks up by nearly a half. Meanwhile, an Iraqi couple are on trial in Germany accused of enslaving and abusing two Yazidi girls. Here's a roundup of top news stories from Germany on Monday, May 19.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German police union: Thousands more officers needed to patrol borders
Plans from Germany's conservative opposition leader to bring back permanent controls along the country's borders would require hiring thousands of additional police officers, the leader of the German Police Union (GdP) said on Monday. Friedrich Merz, the head of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), included the return of permanent border checks in a legislative package aimed at cracking down on migration. All of Germany's neighbours are members of the visa-free Schengen Area, and have not had regular border controls on any land borders for several years as a result of the Schengen agreement. "We would certainly need 8,000 to 10,000 additional officers to comprehensively control the border," Andreas Rosskopf, head of the GdP federal police, told the Rheinische Post newspaper. He said about 1,000 riot police are already being regularly deployed as support to the regular force at the borders, and a broader staffing reform is "absolutely essential." Rosskopft said that Germany also lacked modern technology such as surveillance drones and vehicle licence plate scanners to properly aid officers in controlling the borders.
