Federal Police Present 2025 Annual Report: Fewer Crimes, More Violence, and Failed Deportations

At the same time, the number of violent offenses rose by 4.2 percent compared to the previous year, to roughly 35,400 cases. Violent offenses include assault, robbery, crimes against life, resistance to law enforcement officers, offenses against personal freedom, and offenses against public order. In violent offenses with known suspects, German nationals accounted for 53 percent, according to the report. Sexual offenses were counted separately and remained largely stable, with some 2,800 recorded cases compared to the previous year. According to the Federal Police, a knife was carried in 3.9 percent of all violent offenses.

More Violence Against Officers

Attacks on officers also increased. According to the figures, 3,185 Federal Police officers were attacked, a rise of 7.4 percent compared to the previous year. 818 officers were injured in the process, 1.7 percent more than the year before. 53 percent of the attackers were under the influence of intoxicating substances, according to the Federal Police. In the foreword to the report, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt thanked the officers for their deployment at the borders.

Border Controls and Refusals of Entry

Since September 16, 2024, controls have been in place at all of Germany's land borders upon entry. On May 7, 2025, the controls were tightened and expanded, so that people can also be turned away if they apply for asylum in Germany – with exceptions for the sick and pregnant women, among others. These rules currently apply until September 2026. Federal Police President Dieter Romann told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur: "Die flexiblen und smarten Grenzkontrollen haben auch 2025 ihre Wirkung gezeigt." Whether and for how long they would be continued also depends on the success and impact of the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS).

The Federal Police recorded nearly 63,000 unauthorized entries at land, air, and sea borders last year, almost a quarter fewer than the previous year. The number of people applying for asylum in Germany for the first time has fallen significantly since 2023. According to Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, since May 2025, "über 32.000 illegale Einreisen unmittelbar verhindert, Schleuserkriminalität eingedämmt und das Asylsystem entlastet" have been achieved. In addition to the changed refusal-of-entry practice, Romann also attributed the decline to lower migration from key countries of origin such as Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Deportations Frequently Fail

A significant share of deportations failed last year. Of the 58,795 deportations planned for 2025, 34,848 were unsuccessful – in more than 33,000 cases, the failure occurred before the states handed over the individuals required to leave to the Federal Police. According to the Federal Police, 464 deportations failed during transfer, for instance due to invalid travel documents or medical reasons. In 1,353 cases, deportations were canceled after transfer to the Federal Police, mainly because transport companies refused to carry the individuals, the destination country obstructed the process, the person to be deported offered passive resistance, or an administrative court issued a ruling at the last minute.

According to the figures, the Federal Police's operational hours for border protection tasks rose by 5.2 percent, while the total number of operational hours in the same period fell by about 6.4 percent. As of December 31, 2025, the number of employees rose by 0.7 percent to 55,369 staff members. According to the agency, the Federal Police is also taking on tasks in new operational areas such as drone defense. In deportations, the Federal Police assisted the states with around 24,000 people last year, 7.7 percent more than the previous year.

Political Assessments

Marcel Emmerich, the Greens parliamentary group's spokesperson on internal affairs, criticized the strain on the Federal Police. He called for an end to permanent border controls and stated: "Die Bundespolizei ächzt unter einer Dauerbelastung, die politisch verursacht ist." If Foreign Minister Alexander Dobrindt turns the Federal Police into a "Migrationspolizei," officers are missing elsewhere – for security at train stations, airports, and in the fight against organized crime.

Dobrindt assessed the balance more positively. According to a statement, he said the measures help ensure "dass wir das Migrationsgeschehen neu ordnen konnten". The Federal Police itself sees the reasons for the decline in unauthorized entries in the combination of refusals of entry and reduced migration pressure from the main countries of origin. The trends in violent offenses and attacks on officers are, however, identified in the report as a challenge in their own right.

The annual report thus paints a mixed picture: overall crime within the Federal Police's area of responsibility has fallen, while violence against officers and the number of violent offenses have risen. The Federal Police attributes the decline in irregular migration in part to the "signal effect" of the changed refusal-of-entry practice. According to Romann, the question of whether border controls will be extended beyond September 2026 also depends on the success of the CEAS reform.