Criticism of new police unit near the border

A new search group to combat crime and illegal migration in Saxony's border region with Poland and the Czech Republic has also been met with criticism. The AfD in the state parliament spoke of a "bad joke". While the CDU had proposed a Saxon border police force during the state election campaign, a group of 24 officers has now been left over, complained AfD interior politician Sebastian Wippel. The unit bears the name "Border Investigation Group".

For the AfD, the new unit is a "drop in the ocean"

"The border police was a brazen deception of voters," explained Wippel. With a border length of 570 kilometers, 24 officers are a "drop in the ocean". The AfD is calling for a "joint border task force of the state and federal police". In addition, patrols should be carried out around the clock together with the Czech Republic and Poland.

Bernd Rudolph, domestic policy spokesperson for the parliamentary group Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) in the state parliament, called the new unit a "border police force through the back door". They are not needed in this form. "Instead of creating new units, we should concentrate on strengthening the existing police forces."

BSW already sees police at the limit of their capacity

Rudolph pointed out that the Saxon police force is already suffering from a considerable lack of personnel. "Our police officers are overworked and understaffed. The introduction of another unit will only exacerbate these problems." According to Rudolph, the serious cuts in the Free State's double budget also affect the police. "It is incomprehensible how the police budget can be cut on the one hand and new units introduced on the other."

Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) presented the concept of the "Border Investigation Unit" in Görlitz on Thursday. Saxony wants to increase the control pressure in the border area. The new unit is due to start work in Seifhennersdorf in the Görlitz police district on October 1 and in Pirna on November 1, 2025 under the direction of the Dresden police district. In addition to pushing back illegal migration, the focus will be on combating cross-border crime.