Welt – Germany: Half a billion euros are missing from the Federal Police

After the reports in the German press about the shortages in the federal army (which are to be covered by the 100 billion euro package that the government has voted after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine), come those concerning the shortages in the police.

The police chief and unions are complaining about huge shortages in equipment and staff. They even warn that the operational capacity of the organization is at risk. And there are also deficits in state police forces.

Representatives of the Federal Police and police unions are warning of huge shortages in equipment and personnel ahead of the Bundestag debate on the 2023 budget in early September. According to internal documents exclusively available to Welt am Sonntag, the Federal Police lacks almost half a billion euros for the years 2023 to 2026 in order to be able to procure the equipment deemed necessary from the start.

In a list drawn up by the Federal Police Headquarters in Potsdam at the beginning of July for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, among others, it is estimated that an additional 200 million euros will be needed for drone defense over the next four years. Another 200 million euros will be needed for training in “life-threatening situations” and the corresponding equipment of police forces. 100 million euros should be allocated for the purchase of protected emergency vehicles, 70 million euros for ships, 12 million euros for “unmanned aerial systems” and finally 50 million euros for the maintenance of vehicles of all kinds.

If one subtracts what has already been included in the budget planning, a deficit of €497 million remains.

The Federal Police Headquarters compiled the list to prepare the Ministry of the Interior for the budget negotiations. Federal Police President Dieter Romann had already warned the Ministry in the spring that without increased funding, operational capacity was at risk. In a letter from Romann dated March 30 to the relevant heads of services of the Ministry of the Interior, which is available to the newspaper, the police chief writes that he is “concerned that the future financial resources of the Federal Police will not be sufficient to deal with the many challenges”. Romann then describes the volume of financial needs already described.

When asked, the Federal Police Headquarters said it does not comment on the current budgeting process. Representatives of the traffic light coalition reject the charge of insufficient funding: “The Federal Police is not underfunded. Since 2016, we have invested in this service more than any other in the security sector,” says the SPD MP and politician interiors by Uli Grötsch.

Indeed, funding and positions in the federal police have recently increased significantly. But according to police representatives, this is not enough. “If the coalition does not improve the budget plans for 2022 and 2023, it will be a disaster,” says the head of the Federal Police (GdP), Andreas Roßkopf. The federal president of the Federal Police Association DPolG, Heiko Teggatz, explains: “The security situation in Germany will soon reach its peak: If people can no longer afford to live, more people than we would like will get stupid ideas – and even in cities who are increasingly in the dark because of the blackout. That’s where you need more and better equipped police.”

“Equipment alarmingly poor”

There is also a strong need for action in state police forces, he says: “In states like Berlin or Hamburg, the police equipment is alarmingly bad.” Irene Mihalic, parliamentary director of the Greens parliamentary group, confirms: “There is a need for improvement in all areas of the police force in Germany: equipment, buildings, IT, training. Many new positions have been created, but they need to be filled “.

The death of a young Senegalese asylum seeker by police shooting in Dortmund in early August had reignited the debate over police equipment.

The prosecutor’s office is investigating the matter. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) warns against jumping to conclusions. “If it eventually turns out that something needs to be improved in terms of equipment, training or responsibilities, we will implement it as soon as possible. However, before such a decision is made, it is important to get the facts right,” Reul told WELT AM SONNTAG. The head of the SPD opposition in NRW, Thomas Kutschaty, sees the Dortmund case as a “wake-up call for the Interior Minister”. It must be urgently considered whether there are “deficiencies or a need for improvement in the training of our police officers in dealing with the mentally ill”.