The General Security and Public Order Act in Berlin is in need of reform. This has been the political consensus for years. Now a reform is on the agenda. This is to be done in two parts. The so-called small package is to be launched as early as September. Among other things, it will regulate the use of body cams in closed rooms. In addition, according to information from Behörden Spiegel, it is planned to remove the time limit on the authorization for the use of the cameras, as well as to further regulate the use of distance electro-pulsing devices. The general question here is whether the devices are to be classified as weapons or as aids to physical violence. For this reason, the law on the use of direct force must also be reformed. Furthermore, the duration of preventive detention is to be adjusted in a small package. In future, this will be possible for a longer period.
The second, the so-called large package, is to be introduced by the end of the year. Here, it is particularly a matter of bringing data transfer powers up to date and making them compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is still unclear whether the topic “expansion of video surveillance” will be included in the small or the large package. Both packages must then also go through the parliamentary procedure.
