Quick freeze procedure: Police union criticizes new regulation

Quick freeze procedure: Police union criticizes new regulation

Rainer Wendt, the federal chairman of the German Police Union, is skeptical about the new regulation on data retention, which is known in technical jargon as the “quick freeze procedure”. Above all, he criticizes the questionable circumstances of the agreement between the FDP and the SPD. Wendt emphasizes that the new regulation, which only allows access to communication data such as IP addresses or telephone numbers in the case of serious crimes with judicial permission, is not sufficient.

A central point of criticism from Wendt is the fact that the quick freeze regulation does not offer the possibility of accessing old communication data, as would have been important in the case of the NSU perpetrators, for example. He explains that even in the case of RAF terrorists or the NSU perpetrators Mundlos and Böhnhardt, the data is no longer available and therefore cannot be used.

Wendt emphasizes that data retention is crucial for uncovering networks of suspects and tracking communication connections. He emphasizes the importance of intensive data monitoring and regrets that Germany lacks such an instrument compared to other European countries such as France.

Finally, Wendt makes it clear that the police union will continue to put pressure on political decision-makers to achieve a further expansion of data retention in Germany. He emphasizes the need to be able to monitor suspected extremists more intensively and calls for a clear definition of the criteria for observation by intelligence services.