Bushman plans better protection for police officers and rescue workers
With a slight tightening of criminal law, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann aims to better protect Bailiffs and emergency services from hostilities and violence. "Attacks and the hostile tendencies they express can have serious consequences," it says in a draft speech by the Minister. Besides the individual consequences for the victim, the functionality of the community is also endangered. Previously, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" had reported on this.
The Justice Minister's proposal aligns with a wish of the Interior Ministers' Conference of the Federal and State Governments. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: "I demanded after New Year's Eve about a year and a half ago that emergency services of the police, fire department, and rescue services, who are lured into ambushes and attacked there, be better protected."
Therefore, Minister Buschmann is very grateful for the proposed legal amendment. If attacks on police officers, rescue workers, firefighters, volunteers, and local politicians in general were to be more severely punished, then this would also be another stop sign.
The draft contains two concrete amendments to the Criminal Code, as stated by the Federal Ministry of Justice. An adjustment of the paragraph is planned, which lays down the principles of sentencing. In the future, sentencing should also take into account whether the "consequences of the offense are suitable for significantly impairing a community-serving activity." Through the amendment of the norm, a deterrent effect should be shown to the affected parties.
Moreover, the draft also envisions a reform of the paragraph that prohibits resistance against Bailiffs. In the future, a "cunning ambush" should be assessed as a particularly serious case of resistance and punished with a prison sentence of at least six months and a maximum of five years.
- The proposed legal amendment by Justice Minister Buschmann aims to offer enhanced protection to rescue services, as they often face hostilities and violence during their operations.
- Incidents of violence against Bushmen, local politicians, and other emergency services personnel like policemen and firefighters have become a significant concern, leading to calls for harsher punishment for such acts.
- The draft suggests that resisting bailiffs in a deceptive manner, a common form of hostility encountered by these officials, should be classified as a severe offence and punished with a minimum prison sentence of six months and a maximum of five years.
