Hesse: GdP: Judgment has direct effect on police work

Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) - According to the police union (GdP) in Hesse, the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on data analysis software has a direct effect on the legal basis of police work.

Hesse: GdP: Judgment has direct effect on police work

Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) - According to the police union (GdP) in Hesse, the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on data analysis software has a direct effect on the legal basis of police work. Hessian Minister of the Interior Peter Beuth (CDU) is now expected to convert the court's specifications into a "data protection-compliant legal norm" in a timely manner.

The Federal Constitutional Court had decided that the police may analyze large databases using software when searching for potential criminals - but the court made strict requirements for their use. According to the court, the regulations in Hesse and Hamburg have not yet met these requirements. The Karlsruhe judges therefore declared them unconstitutional.

However, a constitutional design is possible, said the chairman of the First Senate, Court President Stephan Harbarth, at the verdict on Thursday in Karlsruhe. In Hesse, where the police have been working with the software since 2017, the legislator has until the end of September at the latest to redefine the problematic regulation. Until then, it will remain in force with significant restrictions.

According to a press release, GdP state head Jens Mohrherr said on the sidelines of a federal executive board meeting of the union in Hanover that since October 2020 the Hessian unit "BAO Focus" has been bundling and intensifying - this stands for "Special organizational structure for a cross-case organizational structure against child pornography and the sexual abuse of children" - police measures. During this time, almost 3,000 searches were carried out, 41 arrest warrants were executed and more than 46,000 data carriers were seized. Appropriate software enables "the investigation-relevant data evaluation in a close temporal connection to the crime". This is ultimately also "practiced victim protection". "Like our colleagues, citizens want effective police work," emphasized Mohrherr.