Powers of Police and Customs Officers
Did you know that German police and customs officers can check you whilst not wearing a uniform? This is perhaps the most staggering but not the only difference in rules covering activities of German and Czech authorities. Ministry of the Interior retains the right to further modify information on German and Austrian rules which are currently subject to an examination by German and Austrian experts.
- Summary
- Germany
- Austria
- Czech Republic
Be prepared for a check. Find information on rules applying to checks in Germany and Austria and relating competences of police and customs officers involved in checks. An indicative list of basic rules for checks is included in the table below. The following text encompasses more detailed information concerning individual countries.
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Germany
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Austria
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Czech Republic
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What authorities can carry out checks?
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Federal police
customs officers state police |
Federal police
customs officers |
Police of the Czech Republic
customs officers municipal police Note: under the Act on Waste Management, the Czech Inspectorate for the Environment (CIE) also has some powers to carry out checks |
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Are different checks in borderland and inland?
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YES – extended powers to carry out checks in the zone 30 km from the national border
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YES - extended powers relating to crossing of internal borders
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NO (CIE usually in cooperation with uniformed forces)
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Can checks be carried out by persons not wearing a uniform?
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YES
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YES
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NO
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Are checking persons (inspectors) obliged to prove their police/customs membership?
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YES – automatically (in civil) or at a request (in uniform)
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YES – automatically (in civil) or at a request (in uniform)
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YES
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Is there an obligation to submit myself to a police/customs check?
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YES
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YES
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YES
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Must a check be initiated by a reasonable suspicion that, for example, a minor offence has been committed?
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NO – movement in the borderland is a sufficient grounds for a check
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NO – sufficient grounds is that a person crossed or intends to cross the internal border
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YES (municipal police), NO (police and customs authorities are empowered to carry out checks without any reasonable suspicion concerning violation of legal/administrative provisions)
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Can checks be carried out by police and customs officers together?
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YES
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YES
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YES
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