Bavaria spends more than 100 million euros a year on security staff in its “anchor centers”. This was the result of a survey by the German Press Agency among the seven district governments of the Free State. Accordingly, the costs for security in 2022 were around 111 million euros. For the current year, the district governments expect an increase to around 128 million euros – partly due to the opening of more accommodation for an increasing number of refugees.
How much is spent in government districts on security services in “anchor centers” depends primarily on the number of locations and the number of employees deployed. The leader in terms of costs is Upper Bavaria as the largest administrative district with a total of nine facilities, around 300 employees per day and expected costs of around 42 million euros in the current year. Behind it is Swabia, which also has nine facilities, up to 167 employees per day and almost 34 million euros.
Government districts with a central institution spend significantly less: Lower Franconia, Upper Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Lower Bavaria. Spending between nine and eleven million euros is expected there this year – among other things because only around 45 to 65 employees are on duty per day. Middle Franconia is a special case: costs there are expected to be around 10.3 million euros this year – although in addition to the main location in Zirndorf (Fürth district), there are six other facilities where security must be ensured. However, a total of only up to 65 employees are deployed per day.
Many of the accommodations have been either at the limit of their capacity or significantly overcrowded for some time. At the beginning of November, 1794 people were accommodated in the “Anchor Center” in Lower Franconia – almost 300 more than the regular capacity allowed. In Lower Bavaria, almost 100 more people lived in the facility than planned. According to the district government, the “anchor center” in Upper Franconia was at full capacity, while Upper Bavaria reported occupancy of 97 percent.
Although some of the buildings are so full that additional tents have to be set up, the government districts have recorded only a few physical confrontations between security staff and residents. The exception is Upper Franconia with 19 injuries this year. Seven people were injured in a fight in the facility in Bamberg in mid-September. Most recently, the police also investigated an attempted homicide following a dispute between two residents and a security employee in Regensburg. The two men are said to have thrown heavy objects at the man on Wednesday, causing him to fall to the ground.
Security personnel are checked for reliability
However, most district governments do not keep precise overviews of incidents with injuries and instead refer them to the police. However, according to a spokeswoman, the State Criminal Police Office was unable to carry out a Bavaria-wide evaluation of physical injuries in “anchor centers”. In Lower Franconia, however, the district head of the German Police Union, Thomas Grimm, recently complained that officers were overburdened by operations at the “Anchor” facility in Schweinfurt – because of “a large number of operations” per day.
According to the district governments, the security personnel in all “anchor centers” are checked by authorities for their reliability. In several government districts, employees are also trained on special topics such as de-escalation, intercultural competence and dealing with drug abuse – either under the direction of the commissioned companies or by the “anchor” facilities themselves.
Newly arrived refugees in Bavaria are accommodated in “anchor centers”. The work of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, the Federal Employment Agency, the youth welfare offices, justice and immigration authorities will be pooled there. This is intended to speed up asylum procedures and the deportation of those who do not have the right to stay. In order to continually create space in the facilities, people are distributed among the municipalities according to a certain key – and accommodated either in shared accommodation or decentrally in apartments.