The Federal Border Guard - a National Police Force : Germany

The Federal Border Guard (BGS) is a federal police force which is under the authority of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and has special police functions. It is responsible for police surveillance of Germany’s borders and police control of transfrontier traffic, which includes border searches for fugitives and criminals. A particularly important duty of the Federal Border Guard is combating transfrontier - in some cases organized - crime. In addition to the prevention of illegal immigration, this includes the fight against alien smuggling and drug trafficking. In 1992 the scope of the Federal Border Guard’s duties was broadened to encompass the functions of the railway police as well as air traffic security at most of Germany’s larger airports.

The Federal Border Guard also has many other duties, including protection of Germany’s constitutional bodies (such as the Office of the Federal President and the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe) and the federal ministries, exercise of police functions on the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, and involvement in police activities abroad under the responsibility of the United Nations, the European Union, the Western European Union and other international organizations.

The police units of the Federal Border Guard are available as an intervention force to assist the police forces of the federal states when large forces must be on duty, for instance during state visits or public demonstrations. The Federal Border Guard is also called in during natural disasters and major accidents. The border police duties of the Federal Border Guard are playing an increasingly important role, especially in light of the Convention Applying the Schengen Agreement that entered into force on 26 March 1995, which provides for stringent checks at the external borders of the European Union. The Federal Border Guard presently has about 30,000 law enforcement officers (not including trainees) and about 6,700 administrative staff.