Police in need: Billion dollar traffic jam forces states to provide federal aid!
Police in Germany are struggling with a backlog of investments: federal states are demanding support for renovation and digitalization.
Police in need: Billion dollar traffic jam forces states to provide federal aid!
Hundreds of police departments in Germany are facing serious restructuring problems. Current surveys by the police union reveal an investment backlog that runs into the double-digit billion range. The federal states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Bremen, Rhineland-Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein are particularly affected. These states are now demanding increased support from the federal government in order to revitalize the ailing structures.
A concrete example is the Bremen Interior Senate, which insists on taking the state police role into account in the planned special fund for infrastructure and climate protection. Bremen is in a budget emergency until 2027, which significantly limits the financial possibilities for necessary police investments.
Federal funding necessary
The Saxon Ministry of the Interior also supports the idea of a federal special fund for the police. Due to the budget situation, no new police vehicles could be procured in the first half of 2025, although new orders have now been placed. The establishment of a federal special fund is also an important concern for the Berlin Interior Senate, especially in view of a renovation backlog of 2.3 billion euros.
The financial planning shows only a meager 7.1 million euros and 6.7 million euros from the special fund for police equipment for the years 2026 and 2027. Rhineland-Palatinate is also looking for more support, especially for necessary investments in the structural conditions of the police stations.
Deficiencies in digitalization
Another major problem is the massive deficiencies in the area of digitalization. Many police departments suffer from insufficient internet bandwidth, which makes daily work significantly more difficult. This is not only a technical problem, but also a security policy problem.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, around 2.4 billion euros have been invested in renovation in recent years. But here too, there are still ailing departments, such as in Wuppertal, that require urgent measures. The pressure is growing on state governments to better equip the police and to remedy existing deficiencies in the short term.
For further concerns and details, comprehensive information is available, for example at NudeVista.
The situation requires quick action and a coordinated approach from all those involved at state and federal level in order to sustainably ensure the safety and efficiency of the police in Germany.
The need for reform will continue to be a central theme in policy discussions in the coming weeks, and calls for greater federal commitment are unlikely to abate.
Further details on the topic can also be found on Mercury can be viewed.