On September 16, Germany introduced tighter controls at all the country’s land borders in what it called an attempt to tackle irregular migration and protect the public from threats such as Islamist extremism.

The new measures were a response by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government to regain the initiative on migration from the far-right, which has witnessed a surge in support following some violent incidents involving asylum seekers.

While checks had already been in place for some time along the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, Germany imposed new controls along its northern border with Denmark and its western frontiers with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

However, police union boss Andreas Rosskopf told German private news network Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) that the new measures have not been effective in combating illegal immigration, saying that they have no deterrent effect.

Rosskopf also said checkpoints and main roads have simply been bypassed since the new measures were introduced.

In contrast, the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, offered a more positive assessment, claiming that the border controls have been effective in combating people-smuggling.

“The number of detections has gone up with the controls,” he said, quoted by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).

SZ reported that Rosskopf had been skeptical about the feasibility of the new measures even before they were introduced, citing concerns over shortage of police staff.

He had also complained that officers lacked professional equipment required to work as a modern investigative police force.