All police action is subject to the principle of equal treatment of the Basic Law. Only on the basis of the powers to intervene can the police carry out measures such as arrests, bag examinations or personal checks without suspicion. For the Federal Police this basis is the Federal Police Law (BPolG) and for the police of the Länder the respective Länder police laws.

In addition, in the context of border security, for example, the Federal Police is also bound by European legal norms such as the Schengen Borders Code. There, too, protection against discrimination is enshrined.

As the AGG does not apply with respect to ​​state action - as already mentioned elsewhere - forms of discrimination by the police cannot be dealt with by the AGG. In cases of racial profiling, therefore, one also has to rely on administrative law. Racial profiling refers to the discriminatory practice to use the appearance of a person, such as the skin color, phenotypic characteristics, their attributed ethnic / religious affiliation or national origin, as a basis for decision-making for police measures - e.g. traffic checks, identity checks or searches - although there is no evidence of a criminal offense.