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37-631: The Bundespolizei was named Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS) ("Federal Border Protection") until 2005, which at its foundation in 1951 had a more restricted role. The then BGS incorporated the former West German Railway Police ( Bahnpolizei ) (in 1992), 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 patrol role in West Germany. In July 2005

74-461: A permanent force of Germans who intimately knew the border woods and mountains (rather than British or US troops who rotated out of Germany after a year or two) and at German rather than Allied expense. The BGS was organized along paramilitary lines in battalions, companies, and platoons, and was armed as light infantry. It remained a police force controlled by the Ministry of Interior rather than by

111-789: A reincarnation of the Zollgrenzschutz from the days of Nazi Germany . It also sustained a long-running feud with the Bundeszollverwaltung over which agency should have the lead responsibility for the inner German border. The passing of the German Emergency Acts on 30 May 1968 relieved the BGS of its quasi-military tasks, because the Bundeswehr could now operate inside the Federal Republic in

148-588: A strength of 16,414 men. Upon the formation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, over 10,000 members of the BGS voluntarily joined the new German military in 1956. The Seegrenzschutz (Maritime Border Protection) was completely absorbed into the German Navy that year. A new maritime border protection unit was set up in the fall of 1964 as the Bundesgrenzschutz See (BGS See; BGS Sea). Although it

185-425: A total of eight border protection groups: Grenzschutzgruppen ( GSG ) 1 through 7, along with a maritime unit. After shortcomings in regional state police procedures and training were revealed by the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics , a BGS unit known as Border Protection Group 9 ( GSG 9 ) was formed to deal with counter-terrorism incidents, especially hostage situations. The GSG 9

222-752: Is in the public domain . Country Studies . Federal Research Division . Bad Bergzabern Bad Bergzabern ( German: [baːt ˈbɛʁktsaːbɐn] ) is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, on the German Wine Route in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany . It is situated near the border with France , on the south-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest , approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of Landau . Bad Bergzabern

259-679: Is the former name of the German Bundespolizei (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior , the BGS originally was primarily focused on protecting the West German borders. During their early days, BGS units had military structures, training and equipment. The law enforcement officers legally had military combatant status until 1994. A major part of

296-540: Is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Bad Bergzabern . Bad Bergzabern has a tradition as a holiday destination and contains various half-timbered houses from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Of particular note from an earlier century is the Gasthaus Zum Engel (1579), which has been described as the most beautiful renaissance building in the entire region . In

333-531: The BMW 5 Series sedans and station wagons , Volkswagen Passat , Volkswagen Golf , and Volkswagen Transporter vans. However, due to the European Union's rules on contract bidding they have less freedom to choose specific manufacturers. Today, German police forces generally lease patrol cars from a manufacturer, usually for a period of three years. Bundespolizei vehicles have number plates that are based on

370-623: 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. The Bundespolizei typically favour vehicles made by German manufacturers such as

407-585: 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

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444-480: The Ministry of Defense . A maritime border protection unit ( Seegrenzschutz ) was formed as part of the BGS on 1 July 1951. It consisted of approximately 550 members and was equipped with fourteen large patrol craft and several helicopters. On 3 October 1953 the Bundespasskontrolldienst (passport control service), which had been established on 19 September 1951, was transferred to the BGS and

481-491: 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

518-602: 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 . The BPOL national headquarters (BPOL- Präsidium ) in Potsdam performs all central control functions. Eight regional headquarters (BPOL- Direktion ) control

555-472: The BGS Alert police served as a federal reserve force to deal with major disturbances and other emergencies beyond the scope of the regional police. The BGS guarded airports and foreign embassies, and several highly trained detachments are available for special crisis situations requiring demolition equipment, helicopters, or combat vehicles. The BGS consisted four border protection commands, which included

592-651: 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: YYY is a combination of up to three numbers. This is some of the weaponry utilized by the Federal Police: The Federal Police now has been reduced to three flight amenities pattern of 94 helicopters. This is the largest civilian helicopter fleet in Germany. In May 2024, it

629-433: The BPOL stations that 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: 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

666-1094: The Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor), the Foreign Office , and the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Although the Compulsory Border Protection Service law is still in force, in 1974 the BGS became an all-volunteer enrollment force and in 1987 started recruiting women. Among other things, it was equipped with armored cars , machine guns, automatic rifles, tear gas, hand grenades, rifle grenades, and antitank weapons. All personnel on border and security duty wore sidearms . Five units had light aircraft and helicopters to facilitate rapid access to remote border areas and for patrol and rescue missions. Some units were effectively Mountain troops because of their specialised training, equipment, and operational area (e.g., Bavarian Alps ). In addition to controlling Germany's border,

703-963: The Federal Border Protection ( Bundesgrenzschutz , BGS) was adopted on 14 November 1950 by the federal cabinet and on 15 February 1951 by the Bundestag . The BGS was established on 16 March 1951. The Cold War had begun, but travel between East and West Germany was not yet restricted by the Berlin Wall (1961). German nationals could move freely from the DDR to the BRD in Berlin, but people attempting to cross illegally elsewhere were likely to be either commercial smugglers or espionage agents carrying contraband (e.g., radio transmitters.). Occupation authorities judged this could be better policed by

740-1044: 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. The Bundespolizei as at 1 September 2020 consists of 51,315 personnel: The following special units also exist: In 1951

777-546: The Gasthaus zum Engel. Reconstruction began in the eighteenth century under Gustav, Duke of Zweibrücken . The work involved stone buildings in the newly fashionable baroque style and included a residential Schloss for the duke. The project was directed by the architect Jonas Erikson Sundahl (1678-1762) who shared the duke's own Swedish provenance. Friedrich Julius Marx, wrote a short history of Bergzabern „Oratio de Tabernis Montanis“ (Zweibrücken 1730). The overlordship of

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814-793: The Schutzpolizei in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany (the East German Volkspolizei had until 1990 similar rank insignia, only with a bit different number of stars for respective ranks). In 2003, the federal German police ranks and insignia were unified with those used by police units of federal lands. Junior ranks ( Mittlerer Dienst ) Senior ranks ( Gehobener Dienst ) Command ranks ( Höherer Dienst ) Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz ( German: [ˌbʊndəsˈɡʁɛnt͡sʃʊt͡s] ; abbreviation: BGS ; English: Federal Border Protection )

851-502: The West German government established the Federal Border Protection ( 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

888-649: 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. Until 2003, the federal police units had rank insignia almost identical to those used by

925-585: The case of an emergency. A military rank structure similar to that of the Bundeswehr was replaced in the mid-1970s by civil service-type personnel grades. The service uniform was green, but field units wore camouflage fatigues and, at times, steel helmets and military training was still carried out. In 1972, the BGS became responsible for the security of the Federal Constitutional Court , the Bundespräsident (Federal President),

962-547: 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. On the night of 13 September 2015 Germany unilaterally reintroduced border controls , under emergency provisions of

999-409: The conscription for the Bundeswehr . 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

1036-557: The early BGS personnel joined the newly founded German Armed Forces ( Bundeswehr ) in 1956 and thus significantly contributed to West Germany's rearmament. The BGS was renamed to Bundespolizei on 1 July 2005. The change of name did not have any effect on the legal status or competencies of the agency, but rather reflects its transition to a multi-faceted police agency with control over border, railway and air security. The newly established Federal Republic of Germany wanted to set up its own federal border guard and police. The founding act of

1073-543: The famous botanist Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus was born here. In 1676, during the Franco-Dutch War , the French under Louis XIV infamously laid waste the Palatinate region as part of a scheme to enlarge France. Much of Bad Bergzabern was destroyed in the process. One of the few buildings that did survive the French king's torching of the town was the local duke's administrative office, which later became

1110-697: The law renaming the BGS as the BPOL was enacted. The BPOL has the following missions: 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

1147-484: The new federal states, were taken over by the BGS. The German Railway Police ( Bahnpolizei ), formerly an independent force, was restructured under the BGS on 1 April 1992 in preparation for the railway's privatization. The (formerly federally run) railway system remains a federal competency and Länder police forces have no authority over the railways. The strength of the BGS was 24,000 in early 1995. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from this source, which

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1184-569: 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 Protection Service was enacted by the parliament, which – in theory – is still in force, but suspended, similar to

1221-534: The sixteenth century local scholars were keen to assert that the town had been founded under the Romans, and sources from this period refer to the medieval Latin name as Tabernae Montanae (trans. " taverns of the mountains"). Although the area was indeed under the control of the Roman empire around the beginning of our era, evidence does not support the notion that Bad Bergzabern had its own origins so far back. In 1525

1258-609: Was announced that Airbus Helicopters will supply 38 new H225 Super Pumas to replace the 19 AS 332 and 19 EC 155 helicopters from 2025 onwards. BPOL provides the federal police element of German Federal Coast Guard . DBGX DBGY DBGZ DBBM DBBO DBBP DBIF 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

1295-485: Was not integrated into any of the existing groups. It won world attention when it rescued ninety passengers on a Lufthansa Flight 181 airliner hijacked to Mogadishu , Somalia , in 1977. June 1990 saw the elimination of border patrols and control of persons at the Inner-German border . Upon German reunification on 3 October 1990, the East German Transportpolizei duties, and responsibility for air security in

1332-483: Was not intended to be able to repel a full-scale invasion, the BGS was tasked with dealing with small-scale threats to the security of West Germany's borders, including the international borders as well as the inner German border . It had limited police powers within its zone of operations to enable it to deal with threats to the peace of the border. The BGS had a reputation for assertiveness, which made it especially unpopular with East Germans, who routinely criticized it as

1369-485: Was now deployed on the entire German border. The BGS was initially a paramilitary force of 10,000 which was responsible for policing a zone 30 kilometres (19 mi) deep along the border. It eventually became the basis for the present national semi-militarised police force. On 19 June 1953 its authorized strength was expanded to 20,000 men, a mixture of conscripts and volunteers equipped with armoured cars, anti-tank guns, helicopters, trucks and jeeps. By 1956, it had

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