After Abuses, German State Reforms Security Measures At Refugee Facilities

The German state of North Rhine Westphalia has introduced new measures to improve security services in refugee housing. Earlier this week, allegations emerged that guards at one facility had abused several residents.

The many asylum seekers who had travelled to Germany for safety "need humane care...the assaults [that occurred earlier this week] are the opposite of human dignity," Ralf Jäger, the interior minister of the North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), told reporters in a press conference on Tuesday.



Germany was shocked this week when a scandal emerged surrounding housing facilities for asylum seekers, pointing to human rights abuses.



Images released on Sunday showed a security guard at a refugee complex in the town of Burbach pinning a man down with his boot. His colleague also appears in the photograph kneeling next to the victim as if posing for the camera. Since then, allegations of similar abuses have emerged from two other NRW refugee housing facilities.



Few details about the suspects have been released. However, investigations pointed to the use of private security agencies as a mistake in government oversight, namely, that those companies can employ individuals without carrying out a full background check.



To combat the problem, Jäger announced on Tuesday that only those who voluntarily submit themselves to a background check by police and Germany's internal security agency would be considered for employment.



Currently, eleven suspects are being investigated, the NRW interior minister told reporters.



"We won't tolerate any violence against asylum seekers."



Germany has experienced a large influx of refugees over the past two years, with more than 65,000 people applying for asylum in the first half of 2014 alone, according to UN figures.



'We are angry and ashamed'



The sudden jump in the number of refugees has made noticeable impact on state resources, among which refugees are equally divided and then transferred to the care of local authorities. Many local governments have faced financial and logistical challenges accommodating the large number of asylum seekers.



NRW interior minister Jäger pledged on Tuesday that his state would continue to support the many people who had made the journey to Germany to live a safe, peaceful life.



"Nothing is going to be swept under the rug," Jäger said. "We are angry and ashamed [for what has happened]...for that I apologize personally to these victims."



kms/jr (AFP, EPD, dpa)