Berlin – Germany’s federal police plans to overhaul the structure it uses to crack down on far-right extremist groups and hate crimes as concerns over extremist crimes grow, local media reported.
The federal police want to build a new unit to fight hate crimes, and about 440 additional positions would be created for the purpose, reports said, citing a paper from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
The paper suggests setting up a new entity within the state protection department of the BKA to help identify far-right extremist groups and their networks.
Right-wing extremist crime was no longer only directed against foreigners or political opponents, but also against people who stand up for diversity or refugee aid, the police have warned.
Germans were alarmed in June by the politically motivated murder of the local politician Walter Luebcke, who had strongly supported refugees and had stood up against anti-refugee voices in the country.