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From 1950, the border police were given the task of surveying the crossing points. In order to better govern the flow of people moving between the borders, the Soviets introduced border passes in 1946. They were valid for 30 days and were issued for urgent family or business trips. During the Berlin Blockade, the Soviets made it compulsory to also be issued with a temporary residence permit alongside the border pass. By doing this, the aim was to reduce the flow of people travelling between the zones. Crossing the borders illegally was, however, still possible. Many still chose the less dangerous route through Berlin as Berlin was still quite accessible due to its special status.
On 1st April 1948, on orders from the Soviet zone, a police reform was put in place: a “ring around Berlin” was created along a path of 300 kilometres surrounding the entire city (including West Berlin) and controls were carried out. This made it possible to survey the open border as well as was possible at a time when the migration of people from the Soviet zone of occupation was becoming an ever increasing problem.