Preventive Repression
The ASOG amendment noticeably shifts police work in Berlin from reactive law enforcement toward preventive control and mass surveillance. The police can now intervene based on mere suspicion or proximity to potential sources of danger— not only against suspects, but often also against uninvolved third parties. Preventive arrests, “conversations with individuals posing a threat,” residence and contact restrictions, as well as electronic surveillance have been significantly expanded. In addition, the use of ankle monitors has been made easier, and preventive detention has been extended, allowing authorities to hold individuals for longer periods.
Comprehensive Surveillance
At the currently seven ‚crime-affected areas‘ (KbOs), whose boundaries have now been disclosed for the first time, the police will soon be able to conduct live surveillance around the clock. AI-powered systems are supposed to detect „suspicious behavior“ and justify random controls – which in fact leads to blanket controls of passersby, legitimizes racial profiling and results in the displacement of for example homeless people. Controls are also permitted in the immediate vicinity of these areas, although the definition of proximity remains vague. In addition to the ‚crime-affected areas’, numerous other locations are being monitored, including approximately 700 so-called „vulnerable objects.“ Video surveillance is also intended to be used at major events, at critical infrastructure sites and in Berlin‘s public swimming pools. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, the police will be permitted to film inside private apartments in the future. This constitutes a serious infringement of the right to inviolability of the home.
Technology and Digital Control
The amendment grants the police far-reaching digital surveillance powers. Communication devices can be secretly monitored, spyware installed on smartphones and laptops, and even encrypted communications tracked in real time—without the affected individuals ever knowing. To install the software, police will be allowed to enter homes without a warrant. AI systems are used to analyze massive amounts of data—from matching biometric data with social media or press reports to the automated analysis of behavioral patterns. The amendment creates a gigantic super-database in which movement profiles, behavioral patterns, and social contacts are collected and analyzed—without any specific cause. In the future, not only video and audio recordings from KbOs and public events will be fed into this database, but also biometric data and information from commercial as well as police sources. Cell tower queries, automated license plate recognition, and the use of drones for surveillance round out the system—making location- and behavior-spanning surveillance of people in Berlin a new reality.
Police Use of Force
In the future, the police will also be permitted to take blood samples against the will of affected individuals if there is a „suspicion“ – for example, based on discriminatory assumptions such as suspicion of an infectious disease. In addition to standard police force, the groundwork for the use of Tasers was already laid by the 2023 ASOG amendment. Now the “final rescue shot” has been introduced —the intentional lethal shot— even without a prior warning. This enables the police to use lethal force under largely unclear circumstances.
