Federal Police (Germany)

Federal Police; Bundespolizei
	Logo of the BPOL
Common name	Federal Police
Abbreviation	BPOL
Agency overview
Formed	1 July 2005
Preceding agency	Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS) (Federal Border Guard);
Employees	48,686 (1 October 2019)
Annual budget	€3.935 billion (2020)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	Germany
Operations jurisdiction	Germany
General nature	Federal law enforcement; Civilian police;
Operational structure
Headquarters	BPOL-Präsidium, Potsdam
Police Officers	40,612[2]
Civilians	8,074[2]
Agency executive	Dieter Romann, Präsident des Bundespolizeipräsidiums;
Parent agency	Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community
BPOL-Direktions	9 • Bad Bramstedt covering Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ; • Hanover covering Bremen, Hamburg and Lower Saxony ; • Sankt Augustin covering North Rhine-Westphalia ; • Koblenz covering Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz and Hesse ; • Stuttgart covering Baden-Württemberg ; • Munich covering Bavaria ; • Pirna covering Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia ; • Potsdam covering Berlin and Brandenburg ; • Frankfurt International Airport ; • Fuldatal covering the Raid Police ; • Direktion 11 (Berlin) covering GSG9, Fliegergruppe and other special forces;
Facilities
Motor vehicles	7,032[2]
Boats	11 (of which 6 are offshore vessels) [3]
Helicopters	94[2]
Service dogs	460[2]
Service horses	21[2]
Website
	www.bundespolizei.de (German)

The Federal Police (Bundespolizei or BPOL) is a (primarily) uniformed federal police force in Germany. It is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior (Bundesministerium des Innern (BMI)).[4] Ordinary police forces, meanwhile, are under the administration of the individual German states (Bundesländer) and are known as the Landespolizei.

The Bundespolizei was formed from the Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS) ("Federal Border Guard"), which had a more restricted role, the West German Railway Police (Bahnpolizei), formerly an independent force; and the East German Transportpolizei in 1990.

Prior to 1994 BGS members also had military combatant status due to their historical foundation and border-guard role in West Germany. In July 2005 the law renaming the BGS as the BPOL was enacted.

Missions

The BPOL has the following missions:

Border security (Grenzpolizei or Grepo), to include passport control (only at borders with non-EU member countries prior to September 2015) and the provision of coast guard services along Germany's 700 km (430 mi) of coastline.
Providing transportation security at international airports and on German railways.
Providing air (or sky) marshals.
Providing counter-terrorism forces (GSG 9).
Providing the federal government's mobile response force for internal security events.
Protection of federal buildings such as Schloss Bellevue, the residence of the German Bundespräsident; they also protect the two highest German courts, both in Karlsruhe:
- The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) and
- The Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof)
Supporting international police missions for the United Nations and EU in Kosovo, Sudan, Liberia, Afghanistan, Gaza Strip, Moldova and Georgia.
Providing in-house security for some German embassies.
Providing rescue helicopter service.

Stop and search on a motorway: BPOL inspecting a bus at a rest stop off Bundesautobahn 9.

The Bundespolizei can also be used to reinforce state police if requested by a state (Land) government. The BPOL maintains these reserve forces to deal with major demonstrations, disturbances or emergencies, supplementing the capabilities of the State Operational Support Units. Several highly trained detachments are available for crisis situations requiring armored cars, water cannon or other special equipment.

BPOL investigators conduct criminal investigations only within its jurisdiction; otherwise the cases are referred to the appropriate state police force or to the federal criminal investigative agency, the Federal Criminal Police (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA).

In addition, the Bundespolizei cooperates closely with German state executive authorities, such as prosecutor's offices (Staatsanwaltschaft) in pursuing criminal investigations.

Restoration of border control tasking on all borders (2015)

On the night of 13 September 2015 Germany unilaterally reintroduced border controls, under emergency provisions of the Schengen Agreement, due to the 2015 European migrant crisis overwhelming Germany's available resources, law enforcement and otherwise. The nominally temporary border controls were initially put in place just on the border with Austria, but by the following day (Monday 14 September 2015) they were being put in place at all borders with fellow EU members. The same day, Austria and other EU members who were part of the Schengen Area began to put in place their own border controls (again meant to be temporary) in response to Germany's actions.

The new German border controls are to be primarily enforced both by the various Landespolizei of those German states that adjoin external borders, and in particular by the Bundespolizei.

Strength

The Bundespolizei consists of 48,686 personnel:

33,084 are fully trained police officers.
- 21,000 provide border, railway and aviation security.
- 6,000 serve in the Alert Police.
- 3,000 serve in the following special units:
  - The Central Office for Communications and Information.
  - GSG 9.
  - The Aviation Wing.
7,528 candidates
8,074 salaried civilian (unarmed) support personnel, including:
- 6,800 civil servants who perform administrative and support services.
- 2,000 Immigration inspectors (called the Individual Service) who perform operational duty handling border protection and immigration matters and airline passenger checks.

Organization

Bundespolizei districts of Germany

Bundespolizei patch

The BPOL national headquarters (BPOL-Präsidium) in Potsdam performs all central control functions. Eight regional headquarters (BPOL-Direktion) control the BPOL stations conduct rail police and border protection missions. These areas of responsibility conform to the federal state boundaries which they did not do prior to 1 March 2008.

The regional headquarters are as follows:

Bad Bramstedt covering Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Hanover covering Bremen, Hamburg and Lower Saxony.
Sankt Augustin covering North Rhine-Westphalia.
Koblenz covering Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.
Stuttgart covering Baden-Württemberg.
Munich covering Bavaria.
Pirna covering Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
Berlin covering Berlin and Brandenburg.

These regional headquarters each have an investigation department and a mobile inspection and observation unit. Moreover, they control the 67 BPOL stations (BPOL-Inspektion) which in turn control the Bundespolizeireviere or precincts located in places that require a 24-hour presence by BPOL officers.

A special Direktion is responsible for Frankfurt International Airport.

The central school for advanced and vocational training is in Lübeck and controls the six basic training schools in Swisttal, Neustrelitz, Oerlenbach, Walsrode, Eschwege and Bamberg. It is also in charge of the Federal Police Sport School in Bad Endorf and a competitive sport project in Kienbaum near Berlin. The sport school specialises in winter sport events and has trained many of Germany's top skiers and skaters such as Claudia Pechstein.

The Zentrale Direktion Bundesbereitschaftspolizei controls the mobile support and rapid reaction battalions located in Bayreuth, Deggendorf, Blumberg (near Berlin), Hünfeld, Uelzen, Duderstadt, Sankt Augustin, Bad Bergzabern, Bad Düben and Ratzeburg. The number of Bereitschaftspolizei companies increased in March 2008 from 28 to 29 comprising approx. 25 percent of Germany’s police support units.[5]

BPOL Special Units

The following special units also exist:

The BPOL Aviation Group is directly subordinate to the BPOL HQ in Potsdam. It controls the five aviation squadrons around the country that operate the force's helicopters. These are located in Fuhlendorf (north, with satellite airfield in Gifhorn), Blumberg (east), Fuldatal (centre), Oberschleißheim (south) and Sankt Augustin (west). Its duties include; border surveillance, monitoring installations belonging to German Rail, helping in serious accidents and disasters in Germany and abroad, searching for missing persons, searching for criminals on the run, supporting the police forces of the federal states, providing transportation for persons whose security is endangered, providing transportation for guests of the Federal government, supporting federal and state authorities, and providing air search and rescue services in coordination with the 12 air rescue centers throughout Germany.
The BFE+ units (abbreviated from Securing of Evidences and Arrest of Suspects) are a specialized division of regular BPOL arresting units, for quick response of terrorist attacks. The units where subsequently battled 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, due to respond faster and with higher firepower to massive terrorist attacks. BFE+ are decentralized and work as a first responder until the more specialized and centralized GSG9 arrive at the scene. The personal equipment is likely the same as SEK officers are wearing (HK G36 etc).
The GSG 9 counter-terrorism group is directly subordinate to the BPOL HQ.
The BPOL Information and Communications Center is now a department of the BPOL HQ in Potsdam.
Most special units of the Federal Police are subordinate to the unified command of Federal Police Directorate 11.

New large offshore patrol vessel BP 81 Potsdam

The water police stations with 16 patrol craft[6] and helicopters are part of the German Federal Coast Guard and assigned to coastal BPOL stations. The watercraft include six offshore patrol vessels, e.g. those of the Bad Bramstedt class, and the large Potsdam class as well as a number of fast inshore vessels and one tugboat.[6]

History

Bundesgrenzschutz patch (1952 to 1976)

In 1951 the West German government established a Federal Border Protection Force (Bundesgrenzschutz or BGS) composed of 10,000 men under the Federal Interior Ministry’s jurisdiction. The force replaced allied military organisations such as the U.S. Constabulary then patrolling West Germany’s borders. The BGS was described as a mobile, lightly armed police force for border and internal security despite fears that it would be the nucleus of a new German army. When West Germany did establish an army, the Bundeswehr, BGS personnel were given the choice of staying in the BGS or joining the army. Most decided to join the army.

In 1953, the BGS took control of the German Passport Control Service. In 1972 the Compulsory Border Guard Service was enacted by the parliament, which – in theory – is still in force, but suspended, similar to the conscription for the Bundeswehr.[7][8] In 1976, the state police grades replaced the military rank structure and BGS training was modified to closely match that of the state police forces (Landespolizei). The West German Railway Police (Bahnpolizei), formerly an independent force, and the East German Transportpolizei were restructured under the BGS in 1990.

In July 2005, the BGS was renamed the Bundespolizei or BPOL (Federal Police) to reflect its transition to a multi-faceted federal police agency. The change also involved a shift to blue uniforms and livery for vehicles and helicopters. The German Interior Ministry reviewed the structure of the BPOL in 2007 and in March 2008 made the structure leaner to get more officers out of offices and onto patrol.

Vehicles

BMW standard patrol car

A Bundespolizei van

Bundespolizei vehicles have number plates that are based on the BP XX-YYY system. BP stands for Bundespolizei. Older vehicles may still have the BGS "BG" plates.

XX is a number from 10 to 55 indicating the type of vehicle:

10 to 12: Motorcycle
15 to 19: Car
20 to 24: Four wheel drive car
25 to 29: Car
30 to 39: Medium four wheel drive vehicle
40 to 49: Trucks and buses
50 to 54: Armoured cars.
55: Trailers

YYY is a combination of up to three numbers.

The Bundespolizei have favoured, and in some cases still favor (where the model is still in production), the following types of car:

BMW 5 Series sedans and station wagons
Volkswagen Passat sedans and Variant station wagons
Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Transporter vans

BMW R 1150 RT motorcycle

Weaponry

This is some of the weaponry utilized by the Federal Police:

H&K G36
H&K MP5
H&K P30

Aircraft inventory

The Federal Police now has been reduced to three flight amenities pattern of 94 helicopters. This is the largest civilian helicopter fleet in Germany.[9]

A Eurocopter EC-135 of the Bundespolizei in the new livery

Bundespolizei Eurocopter Super Puma

Bundespolizei Eurocopter EC-155

Aircraft	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Eurocopter EC-120	training helicopter	EC 120	8	replaced Allouette II in training role
Eurocopter Super Puma	transport helicopter	AS 332 L1	22	3 more on order [10]
Eurocopter EC 135	utility helicopter	EC 135	42	replaced Allouette II, Bell UH-1D in liaison and MEDEVAC role
Eurocopter EC 155	transport helicopter	EC 155 B	19

Former aircraft

Aircraft	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Aérospatiale Alouette II	training and utility helicopter	SA 318C	–	last Allouette left the fleet in 2007
Aérospatiale Puma	transport helicopter	SA 330	–	last Puma left the fleet in 2008, replaced by Super Pumas
MBB Bo 105	rescue helicopter	Bo 105CBS	–	replaced by Eurocopter EC-135T2i

K-9 support

Approximately 500 working dogs are used in the Federal Police at present. Most of the dogs are German shepherds. Other dog breeds are also used such as malinois, Dutch shepherd, German wirehaired pointer, giant schnauzer, and rottweiler. They accompany their handlers on daily missions in railway facilities, at airports, at the border or in physical security. Most working dogs live with the families of their handlers. Basic and advanced training is performed under the supervision of the Federal Police Academy at the Federal Police canine schools in Bleckede (Lower Saxony) and Neuendettelsau (Bavaria) where dogs and handlers go through patrol dog and explosive detection courses.

Ranks

New large offshore patrol vessel BP 81 Potsdam

Junior ranks (Mittlerer Dienst)

Rank	Translation	Equivalent rank in the Bundeswehr
Polizeimeisteranwärter (PMA)	Probationary Constable
Grenzpolizeiliche Unterstützungskraft (GUK) Bundespolizeiliche Unterstützungskraft (BUK) Polizeivollzugsangestellter (PVA)	Border Support Officer Federal Support Officer Corrections Support Employee
Polizeimeister (PM)	Constable (paygrade A7)	Feldwebel Oberfeldwebel
Polizeiobermeister (POM)	Senior Police Constable (paygrade A8)	Hauptfeldwebel
Polizeihauptmeister (PHM)	Police Sergeant (pay grade A9)	Stabsfeldwebel
Polizeihauptmeister mit Amtszulage (PHMmZ)	Police Staff Sergeant (pay grade A9 with increment)	Oberstabsfeldwebel

Senior ranks (Gehobener Dienst)

Rank	Translation	Equivalent rank in the Bundeswehr
Polizeikommissaranwärter (PKA)	Probationary Inspector
Polizeikommissar (PK)	Junior Inspector (pay grade A9)	Leutnant
Polizeioberkommissar (POK)	Inspector (pay grade A10)	Oberleutnant
Polizeihauptkommissar A 11 (PHK)	Chief Inspector II (pay grade A11)	Hauptmann
Polizeihauptkommissar A 12 (PHK)	Chief Inspector I (pay grade A12)	Hauptmann
Erster Polizeihauptkommissar (EPHK)	Senior Chief Inspector (pay grade A13)	Stabshauptmann

Command ranks (Höherer Dienst)

Rank	Translation	Equivalent rank in the Bundeswehr
Polizeiratanwärter (PRA)	Probationary Superintendent
Polizeirat (PR)	Superintendent (pay grade A13)	Major
Polizeioberrat (POR)	Chief Superintendent (pay grade A14)	Oberstleutnant
Polizeidirektor (PD)	Senior Chief Superintendent (pay grade A15)	Oberstleutnant
Leitender Polizeidirektor (LtdPD)	Deputy Director (pay grade A16)	Oberst
Direktor in der Bundespolizei (als Abteilungsleiter im Bundespolizeipräsidium)	Director (Headquarters Division Chief) (pay grade B3)	Brigadegeneral
Präsident der Bundespolizeiakademie	President of the Federal Police Academy (pay grade B4)	Brigadegeneral
Präsident einer Bundespolizeidirektion	President of Police (Department Chief) (pay grades B3–B6)	Generalmajor
Präsident der Bundespolizeidirektion Sankt Augustin Vizepräsident beim Bundespolizeipräsidium	President of the Police Department Sankt Augustin (pay grade B5) Vice President of the Federal Police Central Office (pay grade B6)	Generalleutnant
Präsident des Bundespolizeipräsidiums	President of the Federal Police Central Office (pay grade B9)	General

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