Bavarian balance sheet

Eleven arrests a day at our borders

Wanted criminals are repeatedly taken off the streets during border controls(Bild: Scharinger Daniel, Krone KREATIV)

The importance of police cooperation between Upper Austria and Bavaria is shown by the number of arrests made by the Bavarian border police - for example, 2090 suspects were arrested in the Bavarian districts bordering Upper Austria in just six months.

"In the Schengen area, police surveillance of areas close to the border must remain guaranteed and therefore also close cross-border cooperation between police authorities. The cooperation between the Upper Austrian Police Directorate and its Bavarian colleagues is exemplary in this respect," demands Upper Austrian People's Party Managing Director Florian Hiegelsberger. The tasks of the police include, for example, joint rail patrols or dragnet searches on both sides of the border.

"Determined fight"
The 2090 arrests from October 2023 to April 2024 mean that more than eleven suspects were arrested by Bavarian officers in the immediate vicinity of Upper Austria every day. "We are committed to European freedoms and the Schengen concept, but at the same time we stand for a determined fight against crime and criminals," commented Hiegelsberger on the figures.

The border-free area must not become a borderless area for criminals. We stand for a determined fight against crime.

Florian Hiegelsberger, OÖVP-Landesgeschäftsführer

Bild: Dostal Harald

1992 Weapons were also seized
The 2023 annual report of the border control officers in Lower Bavaria also brings some exciting figures to the table. In the course of the checks, 1548 wanted persons were apprehended within one year, 268 were arrested on the spot. In addition, 1992 weapons and 59 stolen vehicles were seized. In addition, 80 kilos of cannabis, 57 kilos of ecstasy, almost 10 kilos of cocaine and 284 grams of heroin were seized.