In the first report of its kind, Germany's new independent federal police commissioner raises concerns around racial profiling, discrimination and the controversial practice of turning asylum seekers back at the border.
One year after Germany's Parliament elected him as the first independent federal police commissioner, Uli Grötsch last week presented his first annual report.
One key topic in the 57-page report is racial profiling, which was the main focus of the submissions, information and suggestions Grötsch received from 279 citizens between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, according to the report.
In the letters and personal accounts, people made accusations of being singled out due to skin color, ethnicity, physical appearance, mobility or hearing impairments.
"Be it at immigration checks on trains, where those affected have the painful experience of being the only passengers to be checked on the basis of their physical appearance … or at the security line at the airport, where those affected have repeatedly had to endure a detailed examination as the -- subjectively perceived -- only traveler, for example because of their skin color or ethnic origin," the report reads.
As a result of the citizens' allegations of racial profiling and discrimination by federal police, the commissioner says his team has so far initiated 19 investigations.
What's more, the commissioner recommends improved communication during controls and targeted anti-bias training to clarify actions and reduce perceptions of discrimination.
Although the increase in the number of allegations of racial profiling is "seemingly easy to explain" due to the introduction of checks at all internal borders in September 2024, "the perceptions of those affected, who reveal their painful experiences to me in this context, are an alarm signal and unacceptable," Grötsch is quoted in the report.
Several studies suggest that police in Germany also control people on the basis of their physical appearance /external characteristics. A representative study from 2023, for instance, found that 33 percent of Black people in Germany were stopped by the police in the previous five years, with more than half of them perceiving the last police check as discriminatory racial profiling.
Other studies reveal a concerning level of racist attitudes in the police force: The largest research project on the matter from 2024 shows clear agreement with racist statements. For example, 14 percent of respondents agree with the statement "There are too many foreigners living in Germany".
It is, however, important to note that quantifying racism within the German police is difficult due to the lack of reliable, independently collected data.
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Criticism of controversial asylum measures
In the report, the federal police commissioner also criticized Germany's controversial policy to turn back migrants at the country's borders, even if they apply for asylum.
In comments released at the beginning of July, Grötsch said the government should respect a court ruling that the German government is openly defying.
In early June, Berlin's administrative court had ruled in favor of three Somali nationals, deeming the rejections unlawful and incompatible with European law.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who introduced intensified border checks in early May shortly after taking office, argued that the Berlin court's decision pertained only to a specific case and did not apply to the broader policy.
Grötsch criticized Dobrindt, urging him to create a rule that follows European law, ideally by working with countries like Poland.
The new two-party government coalition also introduced additional police checks on the country's borders.
Grötsch moreover said that the lack of what he called 'culture of error' (Fehlerkultur) in the federal police was a "structural problem" from his point of view.
"Far too few statements by the federal police … mention their own mistakes," Grötsch noted, adding that he's not referring to "misconduct that could result in disciplinary or criminal consequences, but to mistakes that are not acknowledged in communication with employees and citizens, even if it is obvious that not everything went one hundred percent right."
Grötsch also called for officers to be made more aware of the issue.
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'We all have to counteract racist incidents'
In the report, the commissioner also called for more sensitivity and better communication from the police with regard to racist discrimination by emergency services.
It would often be enough for officers and those affected to take a step towards each other, Grötsch said during the presentation of the report. He spoke out in favor of ongoing awareness-raising, for example via the federal police academy.
Natalie Pawlik, Germany's new federal anti-racism commissioner, said that federal police officers are currently under enormous pressure at border controls, but that every case is one too many. "We all have to counteract racist incidents," she warned, according to news agency KNA, suggesting that further training would help.
Echoing Pawlik's statements, Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination Ferda Ataman said the report shows that racial profiling at German borders is a serious problem and violates Germany's Constitution and the Schengen Borders Code.
Ataman urged the introduction of control receipts as is already practiced in Spain and the UK so that those affected could better prove unlawful actions by the police. Both Pawlik and Ataman said that more transparency would increase trust in the work of the police.
However, only nine of Germany's 16 federal states presently have independent complaint points people can turn to, according to the Migration Media Service. Only one state -- Rhineland-Palatinate -- currently offers info material in multiple languages.
One of the other widely criticized problems in the context of police practices is the fact that police often investigate themselves, which is considered especially problematic when it comes to cases of deaths in custody because it raises concerns about impartiality and accountability and can undermine public trust in the outcomes of such investigations.
According to the Death in Custody Campaign, more than 260 Black people, people of color, and people affected by racism have died while held in detention or as a result of encounters with German police since 1990.
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Difficult working conditions
While not excusing racial profiling, Federal Police Commissioner Grötsch at the same time lamented the difficult working conditions for the approximately 14,000 German federal police officers deployed at border controls.
"They work millions of hours of overtime and are required to an extent that, in my opinion, is unaffordable in the long term for various reasons," Grötsch emphasized in his report.
The enormous workload at the borders also has a "noticeable impact on regular police work, as many of the colleagues deployed are absent elsewhere in the regular service", he warned.
A spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said that Minister Alexander Dobrindt was aware of the challenge posed by the checks, news agency AFP reported. However, Dobrindt supposedly had no knowledge of any specific abuses, according to the spokesperson.
Grötsch, who took office in March of 2024, is responsible for the concerns of the Federal Police, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the police at the German Bundestag. In his role as federal commissioner for the police, he serves as a point of contact for officers and citizens to report misconduct or structural shortcomings in the federal police.
If you want to contact the federal police commissioner, you can do so at
Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin
+49 (0)30 227 39900
polizeibeauftragter@bundestag.de
with dpa, AFP, KNA