More Power for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution?
News papers have received an internal document of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution which gives information on which power the office wants to have in future.
Desires for more power
Data retention
In Germany communication data of all people (time, users and location) has to be saved and stored for 6 months. The access on this data is currently restricted to police and judiciary in cases of suspicion of terrorism. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution now wants to reduce this restriction and gain access on this data, too.
Surveillance of private rooms
They also want to have the right of observing private rooms. This is another practice used by the police in major crimes, but there has been huge criticism when the new law should have been introduced.
Computer surveillance
Another power they would like to have is the surveillance of computers. However, this is something that has not even found its way into law, yet - due to heavy protest. The great coalition wanted to create a special law for this case, because computer surveillance could lead to problems with the constitution.
According to the Federal Constitutional Court computer surveillance would not in general interfere with the constitution, but there had to be regimentations.
Image of the Bundestrojaner (Federal Trojan) taken by ksfoto
Exemption from punishment for police informers
Moreover, it could be introduced that police informers will no longer be punished for criminal acts they commit, if this act is a normal attitude in their criminal environment.
Introduction of DNA profiling for all misdeeds
DNA profiling is a method that is currently only used when somebody is expected to become criminal again. However, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution hopes that DNA could be taken from everybody who commits any crime.
Reactions
The Federal Ministry of the Interior says that this document was just for internal use and would contain ideas that could not be realized until now.
Politicians from SPD and FDP were shocked by the extensive plans this document contains. Thomas Oppermann of the SPD said that the Minister of the Interior (Wolfgang Schäuble, CDU) had lost any visual judgement.
Friday, September 25, 2009
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