Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – In a cross-state search and control operation, the Hessian police recorded 446 criminal offenses and temporarily arrested 13 people. The focus of the controls in the past few days has been on combating burglaries, the Ministry of the Interior in Wiesbaden announced on Friday. A spokesman for the ministry said there had been more checks on major roads and in areas where burglaries had occurred more frequently in the past. In Hesse, almost 4,800 people and over 2,600 vehicles were checked, it said. According to the information, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony were also involved in the transnational, open and covert searches.

According to Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU), the campaign from October 26 to November 9 had “significant successes in the fight against burglars”. Cooperation with other federal states keeps the pressure on burglars high. According to the information, around 1,000 state police officers were involved in the search operation. According to the spokesman, there have been cross-border controls and preventive events against burglaries for many years at the beginning of the dark season, when there are increased attempts at burglary.